
Copyright}] . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



THE FRESH-AIR BOOK 



BY 
J. P. MULLER 



Copyright, 1908 

by 
J. P. MULLER 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 

1908 



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THE FRESH-AIR BOOK 

By J. P. MULLER 

CHAPTER I. 

The Fresh Air Movement. 

During the last decade a vigorous movement has been making 
itself felt throughout Central Europe, the watchword of which is 
"Back to Xature." Advocates of the Xature-cure, numbering 
hundreds of thousands, are working with tireless zeal towards the 
introduction of vegetarianism, absolute abstemiousness in the mat- 
ter of stimulants, and against the use of medicine, serum, vaccine, 
etc. Bitter strife has been caused for many years between ortho- 
dox and Xature-cure practitioners, notwithstanding the fact that 
a great many of the latter are fully qualified physicians. This 
conflict of opinion has been the means of doing both harm and 
good. Good, because many doubtful questions have been threshed 
out ; evil, because both parties have gone to extremes and ex- 
travagances, thereby overlooking the golden mean of truth. That 
X"ature-cure doctors without proper training — in other words 
" quacks" — are able to practice, as throughout the German Em- 
pire, is certainly objectionable, and leads, naturally, to a deal of 
disgust. This rule does not apply to men such as Kneipp, Priess- 
nitz and Rikli, who are exceptions. That some half-century has 
elapsed before "atmospheric" cure by means of air and sun-baths 
has been recognized and adopted by the official medical author- 
ities as a restorative and preservative of health lies simply and 
solely in the fact that it was regarded as a subject fit only for lay- 
men, and because of this long delay mankind has had to bear 
untold suffering and loss. 

One result (many people, perhaps, will call it a natural out- 
come) of this Xature-cure is the "Naked Cult." Prophets 
(among whom Diefenbach, Guttzeit and Gust. X'agel are the best 
known) with long hair and beards, clothed only in a single gar- 
ment or toga, travel around and preach, while periodicals and 
books are issued proclaiming their creed that all human sickness, 
all mental and bodily infirmities proceed from the use of clothing. 
The chief and most powerful argument of these teachers is that 
naked we are born into the world, and that, therefore. Xature has 
intended that naked we should go through life. Clothing, accord- 
ing to this doctrine, is the outward sign of the deterioration, ill- 



health and immorality of the present race. Against the argument 
that man, originally a tropical animal, has been scattered by force 
of circumstances over the temperate and frigid zones, and must 
wear clothing to protect himself from the cold, there is quoted 
the case of th eclimate-hardened women of Terra del Fuego, who, 
clad in nothing but a rag round their loins, feed their naked chil- 
dren at their breast, or the case of the stark-naked Eskimos in the 
frozen north, who entertained the wondering Frith j of Nansen in 
their earth huts. 

Several fanatics in Germany and Austria have put their ideas 
into actual practice, that is, so far as the law would allow them, 
with results that go far to prove the truth of their assertions. 
There are several families, the members of which when at home 
doff every article of clothing (even bathing-drawers or loin 
cloths) no matter what the time of the year. In some cases the 
servants have followed the example of the masters and mistresses, 
work, especially in the kitchen, being much easier to do when the 
worker is not hampered by clothes. The conditions of health and 
morality in such cases have been entirely without taint (in one 
case this judgment has been passed after an experience of eight 
years). If ever it becomes the fashion to go about naked both at 
home and abroad, one thing is certain, people will be obliged to 
pay strict attention to body culture and the preservation of their 
natural grace. The majority of men and women nowadays, 
adorned and rigged out by every means known to the art of the 
tailor, barber and corset-maker, would cut a very sorry figure, 
nay, more, would inspire natural aversion, if they were suddenly 
called upon to show themselves as their Creator — or, rather, their 
own mismanagement — has made them. 

It must, however, be confessed that the Nature-cure in gen- 
eral and the fervent pursuit of the Naked Cult, especially in the 
manner of our southern neighbors, are overdone. The family- 
light-bath (to give it its full title), such as I^have referred to, is 
not exactly suitable in damp, windy climafes, apart altogether 
from the question of taste and social convenience. Nevertheless, 
it is quite worth our while to study a little the Nature-cure move- 
ment itself and see if there is nothing good and useful in it that 
we can select and adapt for our own benefit. I can name some 
very excellent ideas fostered by it; such, for instance, as the de- 
mand for fresh air, the insistence on the necessity of fresh air, 
wherever and whenever we breathe, and the introduction of a 
simpler and healthier method of clothing our forms. 

It is not necessary to lay any emphasis on the incalculable 
value to the individual and to the community of good health. 
Everyone knows that without it life is well-nigh insupportable, 
and that only with it can life be happy and beautiful. Yet it is 



astounding to find how vast is the number of persons entirely 
ignorant of the first principles by which it is to be ensured and 
maintained. 

By the word ''health" I mean a condition in which all parts 
of the body, the internal organs as well as the external muscles, 
are developed in their natural extent and brought to that pitih 
of strength (power of resistance) to which Nature originally in- 
tended. Such health can only be obtained by the use and exercise 
of all those organs and muscles in a rational manner, and the 
oxygenization of the blood by the consumption of fresh air. 

We all know that the average human being inhales — takes into 
his system — millions of mibrobes in the course of a day, and that 
if it were not for the ability of his blood to destroy those microbes 
he would very quickly succumb. He - knows also that the de- 
stroying-power (so to speak) of the blood is dependent upon 
the absorption of pure oxygen for its efficiency ; and whilst it is 
amazing upon what a small quantity of pure air he can manage to 
subsist, it is even more mystifying that he should seldom, if ever, 
attempt to consume as much of it as possible in order that his 
physical — and, consequently, mental — organism should attain its 
fullest efficiency. 

Next in importance to the vitalization of the blood by the 
consumption of fresh air, is the strengthening of the multitude 
of tissues and muscles. This can only be attained by use. Again, 
it is the simplest, most obvious proposition. Just as iron will rust 
for want of use, so will any part of a living body atrophy if un- 
exercised. How many famous athletes are there who, possessing 
mighty muscles, have yet fallen to the commonest, most trifling 
diseases ? It is easy to find in any gymnasium scores of men with 
strong arms and legs, but weak lungs and hearts and stomachs ; 
and as for the town-dwellers and the non-athletic, they are vul- 
nerable at a hundred points. Through lacking knowledge in the 
proper care of the body, or at least through failing to practice it, 
they not only lose vigor and, consequently, their capacity for work 
and usefulness, but more than half the joy of life. 

Given a body that is free from disease, the maintenance of 
good health and the maximum of energy and vigor are perfectly 
easy to acquire. It is a matter merely of internal and external 
application of fresh air and the practice of rational gymnastic 
exercise. In the following chapters will be found information on 
the several departments of this all-important subject, which em- 
body the results of special study, observation and experiment ex- 
tending over many years. 



CHAPTER II. 

Fresh Air and Bad Air. 

Nearly everyone is agreed today that sickness and short life 
are the consequences of unnatural and unhealthy modes of living. 
All are confirmed in the belief that fresh air is an all-powerful 
source of health, and that bad air, on the other hand, is exceed- 
ingly harmful, even dangerous. Those things are common knowl- 
edge, but how uncommon it is to find practice in accordance with 
the knowledge! The vast majority of people live in bad air. 
That celebrated savants and erudite hygienists are no exception 
to this rule, I have had occasion to prove. Some little while ago, 
at a congress in Liege, throughout an entire week, some two hun- 
dred hygienists of nations sat in a hall of the university, in which 
not the slightest trace of artificial or natural ventilation was to be 
found. The hall, moreover, was covered by a large glass roof. 
A small pane, cut in two, formed an opening in this roof just 
above our heads — it was my only consolation during the first day 
of the congress — but my hope of fresh air was frustrated, for 
over the first glass roof was a second — hermetically closed. I 
tried once to let a little air into the hall by opening a door in the 
background, some half an hour before the proceedings com- 
menced ; but, five minutes later, a very much laced-in and black- 
clothed lady (also a hygienist) appeared and closed that door. 
Another day I opened a side door that led to the vestibule at least 
ten times, but it was always re-shut by servants. At last I de- 
clined to stay in the hall, and tried to follow the proceedings from 
without as best I could. If I did not protest at once against the 
dreadful air in the hall it was because I took a great "scientilc" 
interest in finding out if an assembly of learned people would 
really sit for a number of days in such an atmosphere. In that 
place, where the air grew every day closer, thicker, fouler and 
more stinking, the assembled hygienists remained; many of them 
looked pale and unhealthy, and several sat in their overcoats and 
hats, although it was mild, late summer weather. 

When such things happen at the fountain heads of physical 
wisdom, so to speak, is it to be wondered at that the public has 
no practical understanding of the value of good air ? Good air — 
be it cold or warm — is the foundation of all conditions of life ; 
bad air — cold or warm — is, everywhere, the most powerful and 
common cause of sickness and short life. Perhaps the reader will 
remark that the hygienists proved themselves as men strong and 
capable of endurance, as they were able to sit in that pestilential 
air and heat ; while I, on the contrary, was the weaker, because I 



could not. But that is a great mistake. I can stand as much of 
the natural heat of the sun as anybody, nd I am never thirsty, be- 
cause my skin is in the best condition of activity. It is to be 
ascribed to this circumstance, in conjunction with my light cloth- 
ing, that I enjoy strong exchange of matter, and, therefore, it is 
clear that I beget more warmth than others who wear many 
clothes. 

But if it is a case of being in an enclosed room, filled with 
warm, poisonous air, a healthy body is susceptible to reaction in 
a moment, and will feel unwell; whereas a body accustomed to 
impure air will not be in the least affected, quietly absorbing one 
poison after the other, until the day of the inevitable hygienic 
crash comes. 

It is by no means necessary that the farm air in a room be 
stale. 

If the air be artificially warmed, that is, by a stove, it can, 
owing to its high temperature, even if it were originally pure, of 
itself prove a disadvantage, because it enervates those who inhale 
it, and makes them keenly sensitive to cold, owing to the great 
difference between the air outside and inside. A healthy body 
that, by means of a powerful skin activity, provides a lively ex- 
change of matter, and possesses "well-trained" blood corpuscles — 
conditions by which we may be able to withstand attacks of sick- 
ness — will revolt at once against too much artificial warmth. The 
kind of man whose functions are naturally adapted to the tem- 
perature of the different seasons generates much more warmth 
than enervated people, and he, therefore, feels uncomfortable in 
presence of the latter. 

Gymnasiums do not need to be very warm, and there is not 
much to be said against a certain temperature in the dressing- 
room. A slight warming of the gymnasiums — of course, with 
open windows — can, on the other hand, and especially when the 
weather is damp and cold, assist ventilation. 

Gymnastic exercises in enclosed places with bad air are not 
only useless, but often directly harmful. I have, on occasions, 
seen more die of tuberculosis, without any other cause of their ill- 
ness being forthcoming, than that they had taken it upon them- 
selves to practice gymnastics, often on so-called "rational" prin- 
ciples, in enclosed and badly-ventilated rooms, where they inhaled 
a mass of poisonous vapor, dust and bacilli. The case was natur- 
ally not improved by the fact that they had inhaled through the 
mouth instead of through the nose, and that, after exercising, 
they had neither taken a bath nor had rubbed themselves down. 

Many people have an actual and sickly fear of draught, and in 
their endeavor to escape the harmful consequences of a draught, 
they often avail themselves of a wrong medium. The more one 



lays oneself in a stove and the more one shuts oneself in, the more 
harmful is the draught if it happens to gain an entrance, in spite 
of all precautions, at some tiny hole or other. Draught is caused, 
as is known, by the great difference of temperature between the 
inner and outer atmosphere. Cold air can easily stream in through 
the keyhole, unfastened windows, open doors, etc. Should such a 
fine, cold streak of air unluckily strike an isolated spot on an over- 
heated and sensitive body, it often causes cold or rheumatism. 
The same thing happens in th eevent of any one going from a 
lengthened sojourn in an overheated room out into the cold. 
Rather should the rooms be thrown open so that the difference of 
the temperature outside and inside is not too great. 

Then the air may blow through the large windows and doors, 
and if the occupants be well clad, it will be of more benefit than 
harm. Wind is not draught. We should protect ourselves 
against the thin, cold stream, and take care not to leave a very 
hot room to go out into the cold air. 

People often have a remarkable horror of sleeping with the 
windows open, although it ought to be well understood that it is 
a snecessary to inhale fresh air while asleep as when at one's daily 
work. Many people regard night air as something mysterious 
and dangerous. If that were really the case, how would wild 
animals and birds be able to protect themselves ? At times I have 
encountered the superstition that blindness is caused by sleeping 
near an open window, while others labor under the absurd de- 
lusion that deafness results therefrom ! 

During the four and a half years that I was inspector to the 
Vejlefjord Sanatorium, I have seen to it that 1,058 patients had 
the windows of their bedrooms wide open, even during storms 
and the depth of winter. As one entered the room from the cor- 
ridor, it often seemed like emerging from a warm room into an 
ice one. That a great number of these patients had their lives 
virtually restored to them was due to this day and night inhala- 
tion of fresh air. I never heard of a single case of earache or eye 
trouble among them. 

People need not visit cafes, theaters, or variety entertainments 
where the air is tainted, unless they like, but the majority of 
people are forced to take a railway journey now and then. And 
if there is any poisonous, bacilli-laden air anywhere, it is to be 
found in these overfilled, tiny rooms, called railway compart- 
ments. 

Even if the weather is quite calm and summerlike, there are 
some people who have a mortal horror of the smallest aperture 
through which air can enter. On the other hand, there are travel- 
es who insist on opening the windows even in the coldest weather, 
because they cannot, nor will not, be deprived, of the blessing of 



fresh air. As the number of the latter is ever increasing, the con- 
flicts between Nature-lovers and fresh-air-nihilists become more 
frequent and relentless. 

The only way out of the difficulty is to label certain compart- 
ments as "free air compartments," in the same way as the smoking 
compartments are labelled, then those rational and hardened citi- 
zens, who follow modern progress, will no longer run the risk of 
being poisoned and stifled; and the backsliding weaklings will 
avoid those frightful ar-agitations. 

Fresh air being not only the preventive, but also the cure, of 
most diseases, it is surely the most powerful factor in promoting 
logevity. There is and always has been a good deal of speculation 
as to the length of man's life, as originally intended by Nature, 
and opinions as to the allotted span vary between eighty and one 
hundred-and-forty years. There can be no doubt that the last 
number is more correct. If a man, from his birth upwards, lived 
under perfectly hygiene conditions, senile decay could not possibly 
begin until he was nearing an age of 150 years. Evidence in sup- 
port of this is negative : in face of inexorable law, that every 
cause has its effect, it cannot be accepted that all the different 
offences against hygiene ought not to have any shortening influ- 
ence in a man's age. The most common oience against hygiene of 
which we all, without exception, are, or have been, guilty is that 
of breathing tainted air. Here apparently is the chief cause of 
our too-limited existence. Every tissue and every nerve has been, 
therefore, inoculated with some kind of poison, and has lost en- 
tirely its power of resistence and its faculty of existence. Even 
if we go for a few hours' walk every day in the open air, we are 
breathing in poison during the other hours in our own rooms, in 
restaurants, in theaters, in concert halls, in the street cars, and in 
the railway carriages. Nature has furnished us with a nose, 
which should serve as a sentinel to warn us of the approach of 
this poison; but this means of intelligence is, by most people, as 
much unused and abused as the other weapons with which nature 
has provided us. At school and during student days we are di- 
rectly forced to inhale poison ; therefore no human being living 
today dare contemplate the possibility of living until the age of 
140 years has been reached. But what can be done is this : to 
strive to improve our positions, both public and private, so that 
the coming generations can approach nearer that ideal. Nietsche 
was certainly correct when he declared that the meanness of life 
and the lack of ability to live of our present generation was at- 
tributable to our mustv store-and-cellar air. 



lays oneself in a stove and the more one shuts oneself in, the more 
harmful is the draught if it happens to gain an entrance, in spite 
of all precautions, at some tiny hole or other. Draught is caused, 
as is known, by the great difference of temperature between the 
inner and outer atmosphere. Cold air can easily stream in through 
the keyhole, unfastened windows, open doors, etc. Should such a 
fine, cold streak of air unluckily strike an isolated spot on an over- 
heated and sensitive body, it often causes cold or rheumatism. 
The same thing happens in th eevent of any one going from a 
lengthened sojourn in an overheated room out into the cold. 
Rather should the rooms be thrown open so that the difference of 
the temperature outside and inside is not too great. 

Then the air may blow through the large windows and doors, 
and if the occupants be well clad, it will be of more benefit than 
harm. Wind is not draught. We should protect ourselves 
against the thin, cold stream, and take care not to leave a very 
hot room to go out into the cold air. 

People often have a remarkable horror of sleeping with the 
windows open, although it ought to be well understood that it is 
a snecessary to inhale fresh air while asleep as when at one's daily 
work. Many people regard night air as something mysterious 
and dangerous. If that were really the case, how would wild 
animals and birds be able to protect themselves ? At times I have 
encountered the superstition that blindness is caused by sleeping 
near an open window, while others labor under the absurd de- 
lusion that deafness results therefrom ! 

During the four and a half years that I was inspector to the 
Vejlefjord Sanatorium, I have seen to it that 1,058 patients had 
the windows of their bedrooms wide open, even during storms 
and the depth of winter. As one entered the room from the cor- 
ridor, it often seemed like emerging from a warm room into an 
ice one. That a great number of these patients had their lives 
virtually restored to them was due to this day and night inhala- 
tion of fresh air. I never heard of a single case of earache or eye 
trouble among them. 

People need not visit cafes, theaters, or variety entertainments 
where the air is tainted, unless they like, but the majority of 
people are forced to take a railway journey now and then. And 
if there is any poisonous, bacilli-laden air anywhere, it is to be 
found in these overfilled, tiny rooms, called railway compart- 
ments. 

Even if the weather is quite calm and summerlike, there are 
some people who have a mortal horror of the smallest aperture 
through which air can enter. On the other hand, there are travel- 
es who insist on opening the windows even in the coldest weather, 
because they cannot, nor will not, be deprived of the blessing of 



fresh air. As the number of the latter is ever increasing, the con- 
flicts between Nature-lovers and fresh-air-nihilists become more 
frequent and relentless. 

The only way out of the difficulty is to label certain compart- 
ments as "free air compartments," in the same way as the smoking 
compartments are labelled, then those rational and hardened citi- 
zens, who follow modern progress, will no longer run the risk of 
being poisoned and stifled; and the backsliding weaklings will 
avoid those frightful ar-agitations. 

Fresh air being not only the preventive, but also the cure, of 
most diseases, it is surely the most powerful factor in promoting 
logevity. There is and always has been a good deal of speculation 
as to the length of man's life, as originally intended by Nature, 
and opinions as to the allotted span vary between eighty and one 
hundred-and-forty years. There can be no doubt that the last 
number is more correct. If a man, from his birth upwards, lived 
under perfectly hygiene conditions, senile decay could not possibly 
begin until he was nearing an age of 150 years. Evidence in sup- 
port of this is negative : in face of inexorable law, that every 
cause has its effect, it cannot be accepted that all the different 
offences against hygiene ought not to have any shortening influ- 
ence in a man's age. The most common oience against hygiene of 
which we all, without exception, are, or have been, guilty is that 
of breathing tainted air. Here apparently is the chief cause of 
our too-limited existence. Every tissue and every nerve has been, 
therefore, inoculated with some kind of poison, and has lost en- 
tirely its power of resistence and its faculty of existence. Even 
if we go for a few hours' walk every day in the open air, we are 
breathing in poison during the other hours in our own rooms, in 
restaurants, in theaters, in concert halls, in the street cars, and in 
the railway carriages. Nature has furnished us with a nose, 
which should serve as a sentinel to warn us of the approach of 
this poison; but this means of intelligence is, by most people, as 
much unused and abused as the other weapons with which nature 
has provided us. At school and during student days we are di- 
rectly forced to inhale poison ; therefore no human being living 
today dare contemplate the possibility of living until the age of 
140 years has been reached. But what can be done is this : to 
strive to improve our positions, both public and private, so that 
the coming generations can approach nearer that ideal. Nietsche 
was certainly correct when he declared that the meanness of life 
and the lack of ability to live of our present generation was at- 
tributable to our mustv store-and-cellar air. 



CHAPTER III. 
Air and Sun-Baths in Everyday Life.' 

As fresh air is the most important, nay, the vital factor in 
good health, bodily vigor and cheerful spirits, it will not be dis- 
puted, I think, that well-founded suggestions of method or sys- 
tem by which men may derive the greatest benefit from its use are 
of social value. I have already urged, and shall continue to urge, 
the necessity of breathing fresh air to maintain good health. I 
will now discuss a very efficacious means of promoting not only 
health and happiness, but physical vigor, by the outward applica- 
tion of fresh air. To breathe is to "apply" air internally; by 
"outward application," I mean the exposure of the whole body to 
the air, and that is what is termed an "air-bath." 

This article is superscribed "Air and Sun-baths," because I 
wish to express my opinion that air-baths taken in the sunshine, 
or, at least, in daylight, are the best. Sunlight kills all manner of 
bacteria and disease germs ; as soon as we permit the sun's rays 
to penetrate our skin, our digestive powers are invigorated, our 
blood becomes healthier and darker, our disposition enlivened. 

It need not be feared that I am going to give here a description 
of sun-baths situated in artistically arranged retreats, any more 
than I am going to supply information about expensive electric- 
light baths. Baths of this kind can be found in plenty in Con- 
tinental sanatoriums and clinical institutions especially provided 
for the treatment of certain diseases, available to a well-to-do 
public. A good many things must be complicated and costly be- 
fore people will believe in their usefulness! Germany is well- 
supplied with books which describe these baths in a more or less 
popular manner, a sharp distinction being drawn between air — 
sun — and light-baths ; some, moreover, divide air-baths into com- 
plete, semi and partial air-baths, and even these last are again 
subdivided, the main principles of division being that the air-bath 
is considered effective by reason of its cooling qualities, and the 
sun-bath for its healing qualities. 

Those who have no reverence for these artificial establishments 
will see that, practically, they consist of one and the same kind of 
bath, varied in some small degree by circumstances. No matter 
what distinctions are made, it is obvious that if thick cloud should 
happen to pass in front of the sun whilst a sun-bath is being taken, 
it becomes in a moment simply an air-bath. If the bather feels 
somewhat cold and pulls on a garment, then he is having a semi- 
air-bath. This would change, however, by magic into a semi-sun- 
bath if the sun came out again before he had time to again divest 



himself of his clothing; but, having done this, he will be able to 
congratulate himself that he is again enjoying a regular sun-bath. 

The majority of people have an idea that sun-baths can only 
be taken during the warm summer months. But the summers of 
Northern Europe are often only of short duration, and are fre- 
quently very cold, so that the meaning of the word "summer" 
must be extended as much as possible. Even in winter we can 
provide ourselves with a little summer, when the sun is shining 
brightly and we know the right way to go to work. It grieves me 
when I think of how much "summer weather" and sunshine is 
wasted, which could be turned to good account by suffering man- 
kind if they only knew how to divide and utilize the time to their 
advantage. 

This gives the public quite an inverted idea of things. Winter 
sun-baths are really the most pleasant and comfortable because 
the heat is not oppressive, and the most useful because there is 
more need for them at that period of the year. 

As, however, we cannot all afford to go to Sanatoria, or other 
places at which open air-baths would be possible, I want to induce 
people to take them at home, and the simplest and most convenient 
way is to walk naked in the bedroom. But it is essential — for the 
same reason that it is not especially refreshing to bathe in dish- 
water — that care be taken, when preparing for an air-bath, that 
the air in the room is quite fresh, otherwise all the impurities of 
the foul and stagnant atmosphere will be absorbed by the skin and 
lungs. 

Only beginners should take their air-baths with closed win- 
dows, and only then on the understanding that the windows have 
been wide open for an hour previous. If corporal exercise, 
especially that of skin massage, a simple rubbing of the whole 
body with the hands, be added to the exposure which constitutes 
the bath, the need will soon be felt of opening the windows 
wider and wider. Further, it will be found of more advantage, 
especially on a warm day, to open the door as well, so that suffi- 
cient air current is allowed to enter to prevent the bather from 
breaking into a perspiration, which, in thi scase, where the air- 
bath is not preceded by a water-bath, might prove deleterious. It 
is because o fthis that the air should have as much free access to 
the room as possible during an air-bath, so that there can be no 
difference of temperature between the air inside and that outside. 
Allow the air to stream in quietly through a wide aperture. Wind 
does not constitute a draught, and can never prove injurious if 
skin-rubbing exercise is kept u pwhile inhaling the air into the 
lungs. It is not always a sign of a neglected skin or obstructed 
pores when strenuous corporal exercise fails to induce perspira- 
tion. Being naked, with a goodly current of cold or dry air 



playing on the body, the exudation of the pores does not always 
take the form of sweat, but sometimes in a gaseous state. This 
kind of steam can be easily observed by standing in the bright 
sunshine on a cold day, and watching the outline of one's own 
figure, when little waves of shadow, like the dancing hot air above 
a flame, will be seen to rise upward quickly and continually. The 
skin is seen exhaling carbonic acid, steam, and a number of 
various other poisonous matters, while it absorbs in the meantime 
the oxygen of the air. Everybody will understand that any check 
to this respiration of the skin, by diet or by thick apparel, pre- 
vents the free exchange of poisonous for pure gases, and, there- 
fore, is injurious to the health. It also proves that a skin that 
can breathe freely through its pores, and is accustomed to air- 
baths, sun-baths, and other kinds of gymnastics for the skin, has 
special faculties for cleansing and improving the blood, which 
healthy blood lays the foundation of a vigorous and fatigue- 
resisting organism. Science teaches us that blood corpuscles 
attack eagerly and devour greedily all invading disease germs. 

It is dangerous for beginners, as it is for hardened air- 
bathers, to perspire during the air-bath, if they cannot immedi- 
ately indulge in a water-bath, or dry themselves by vigorous rub- 
bing with a towel. To feel cold when dry is by no means so 
dangerous as when the body is wet. 

Here I would point out that many people make the mistake of 
guarding against a cold by wrapping themselves in too many 
thick garments. If they are then obliged to move quickly, they 
soon break into a perspiration, and soon after, from the very 
same cause, begin to feel very cold, because the moisture on their 
skin, being an uncommonly good heat-conductor, allows the 
warmth of the body to escape. How often one sees a perspiring 
cyclist sitting down in the shadow drinking ice-cold beer, or over- 
heated ladies at a ball trying to cool themselves by eating ice- 
cream. Such methods are simply suicidal. On the other hand, 
people have accused me of gross shortsightedness because I took 
open-air-baths in winter, which erally are not at all dangerous, 
so distorted is the usual perception of the matter. In sunshine 
no one can feel the cold, even if it be freezing, if precaution be 
taken to protect one's self from the wind. I have stood for hours 
at Christmas time on the shore of the Vijyle Fjord, using the 
paper notices affixed to a wooden fence as a screen, without suf- 
fering the slightest inconvenience. It is of no use to suggest 
that I am, possibly, so hardened to the cold that it cannot affect 
me; for I had to sit as its inspector, that same evening, in the 
dining-hall of a sanitorium, with the thermometer registering 48 
degrees (Fahr.), and I shivered with cold. There the warming 
rays of the sun could not reach me, and therein lay the difference. 



Cold garments rob the body of warmth, even if they are not 
damp ; while a naked body exposed to the still dry air loses only 
that warmth that can escape by its own volition, which is as much 
as to say that it loses very little even if the temperature be under 
zero. If we remember that the warm rays of the sun not only 
heat the surface of the skin, but penetrate through the skin, 
spreading a generous glow, because they have not had to pierce 
a thick layer of clothing, it will be understood that, in certain 
conditions, in winter we are more sensible to cold when dressed 
than when naked. 

If one is forced to take one's air-bath in the bedroom, the 
brightest room in the house should be chosen for sleeping in, 
instead of being reserved for a drawing room ; and, above all 
things, away with curtains and hangings. The sunlight will be 
little enough in all conscience. Air and sun bathing, especially at 
first, induce a feeling of drowsiness, a proof that this form of 
exercise is god for those who suffer from insomnia. An air-bath 
in the bedroom should last at least five minutes, and even poor 
people can spare as little time as that. The air-bath, however, 
may be enjoyed several hours without danger. 

An air-bath, being the mildest form of bath, is especially 
suitable for weak and nervous people, who are not strong enough 
to withstand water-baths — at least cold ones. When air-bathing 
is combined with a vigorous massage of the whole surface of the 
skin it may very well take the place of the daily cold water-bath 
fo rcleansing and invigorating purposes, although the latter is, 
without doubt, the more refreshing. The dirt that collects on 
the body during the twenty- four hours of the day can be got rid 
of quite as well by dry rubbing. This can be proved by the ex- 
periment of standing on a pieec of plate-glass and massaging 
oneself vigorously the while, when a layer of minute particles 
will gradually appear on the surface of the glass. 

Dwellers in the centres of large towns cannot obtain nearly as 
much fresh air and sun in their rooms as could be wished. It 
would be better to quit narrow streets, best of all to move out of 
town; distance is of not much account, considering the present 
excellent means of transit. The light and air-baths which are to 
be found in most towns of Central Europe consist generally of a 
small portion of some old villa-garden, always surrounded by a 
high wooden hoarding. 

If the would-be air bather has a home with a flat roof, he can 
easily erect a light bath by making screens of canvas, or similar 
material; or, perhaps, having a somewhat large garden at his 
disposal, he can set about shutting o ffa small portion for the 
purpose. If devoted to gardening, he can construct portable 
screens, and could then work, constantly protected by them, with- 



out clothes ; but, of course, the space enclosed by the screens 
must be at least 9 feet square and some 5 or 6 feet in height, 
large enough to admit the sun's rays. Should he wish to take a 
sun-bath when the sun is pretty low in the heavens, as in the 
morning or the eevning ,or in winter, the enclosed space must of 
necessity be much larger. A light, portable bathroom can be con- 
structed of canvas and light woden uprights provided with metal 
points. To prevent collapse before a high wind, the uprights can 
be stayed (as is the case with the ordinary tents) by means of a 
thin rope made fast to small wooden pegs. Such screens would 
happily not be required in the country. Here a pair of short, 
linen, knee-breeches, a straw hat, and sandals (or wooden sabots) 
are all that is necessary when working in the garden, field and 
forest. How picturesque and healthy country people would 
look if they would only dress like this! The hardest work in 
the blazing sunlight would be sport, and the peasant would be 
spared the needless expense of clothes. Yet at present, the 
peasants, even in harvest time, wear thick woolln jrkins and 
pants, over which is drawn a rough linen shirt, trousers and 
waistcoat, with thick woollen socks on their feet, and heavy 
leathern boots or wooden sabots. Because of this they have to 
suffer heavily from heat and perspiration, and every now and 
then they apply themselves to an earthen jug, drinking a great 
quantity of beer, which only seems to aggravate the evil. When 
I have come across a lot of soldiers ,recruited from the country, 
bathing, I have often observed how ugly and neglected their skin 
looks. Theer may be many muscular specimens among them of 
almost faultless physique, with faces healthy-looking and sun- 
burnt, but in every case the skin of the upper parts of the body 
had that unhealthy, light-grey color ; and even when this goose 
flesh is washed clean in the bath, it still looks dirty. The skin of 
a thorough-paced town-dweller is doubtless just as bad, but, 
perhaps, there is more excuse for him. Country people are in the 
enviable position of being in direct touch with fresh air, and may 
have the finest sun-baths freely in the midst of natural surround- 
ings. Unfortunately, they prize these conveniences about as 
much as a baker's child prizes white bread. 

What beautiful skins the ancient Greeks possessed, acquired 
by constant practice, i. e., body exercises, which they performed 
without clothes in the open air, under a blazing sun. The color 
of their skins was a golden brown, like bronze, and as soft as 
velvet, but at the same time quite innured to all climatic condi- 
tions. That the skin is so innured does not mean that it is hard, 
but rather that it possesses the facility of transmitting the warmth 
and coolness, dryness and moisure, and the different chemical 
and electric influences, so that these, instead of harming or weak- 



ening the body, invigorate and preserve its vitality. While the 
skin of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet becomes hard 
and horny through constant use, the skin of the rest of the body 
has this entirely opposite peculiarity, that the more it is rubbed 
and exposed to the sun and the wind the softer it becomes. We 
who live in northern cities can make our skin as healthy and 
fine as the old Greeks, if we only do the same as they did. 

Athletes might also make more us of the air-bath process 
during their exercises than they have done hitherto. The short- 
knee breeches and light shoes worn by athletes is the healthiest 
mode of dressing. With many useless things does the tourist 
hamper himself when setting out on walking tours and moun- 
taineering expeditions. How many delightful sun-baths a 
yachtsman could enjoy if he would only lay his thick jersey 
aside! Even in winter a sportsman requires no more warmth 
than that supplied by the sun. I have spent half-an-hour running 
about a snow-covered mountain with only my boots on, the ther- 
mometer registering 4 degrees below zero. I felt the cold so 
little, that I was convinced that every healthy and active man 
could have done the same. I have several times stripped myself 
naked in the middle of the Hermitage grounds in the Klampen- 
borg Park, in mid-winter, and taken running exercise. (There 
is no fear of being disturbed, because one can clearly see two 
or three miles in any direction, so that no one can approach un- 
observed.) 

If the skin has been hardened by massage exercise during the 
daily air-bath in the bedroom, there is no need to avoid exposing 
it, when opportunity offers, in the open sun. Skin that is not 
accustomed to such exposture is liable to redness, and may be- 
come very painful and start peeling; it is possible that one may 
contract a little fever ; but even in such an unpleasant event, the 
new skin will be of fine color and healthier than the old. In 
order to prove whether the acquirement of an exercise and sud- 
den "sun burning" was attended with any danger, I allowed my- 
self to be literally roasted in March, 1906, for a whole hour, 
under the powerful electric apparatus of the Finsen light-rays. 
The report certified that my skin was burnt, and that little blisters 
had formed all over my body; my skin pricked me for a few 
days, and then peeled off in tiny pieces ; but I did not experience 
the slightest feeling of illness. An air-bath in the rain is very 
refreshing in warm weather; but when it is misty, one must be 
very careful. 

Mankind needs air and light, and there are people who bef 
lieve that all physical and mental suffering would vanish if only 
we returned to a state of nature, but this cannot be done at once. 



CHAPTER IV. 

What to Wear. 

We see. mankind, young, and old, male and female, carefully 
covering the head with various materials, the head being that part 
of the body already naturally protected by a thick, strong hair- 
growth. Even workmen, rolling up their sleeves to keep their 
almost hairless arms cool, never think of removing the dirty caps 
from their heads. During recent years the "hatless brigade" has 
not been unknown at seaside and other resorts where people spend 
their holidays. Very wisely, they thus give their heads the bene- 
fit of the strengthening sun and air; but very few consistently 
carry their common sense to the towns. Occasionally in the 
London streets one may meet a hatless man, but as a rule all sub- 
mit to the decree of fashion in spite of the evidence of their senses 
that the absence of head-gear is beneficial. 

Let us seek to examine carefully the reason why we wear 
head-gear, and if there are really cases where such a thing as a 
hot is absolutely necessary. 

The first reason usually advanced is that a hat is necessary 
for keeping the head warm. Healthy people, however, with good 
heads of hair, do not need more warmth than the hair already 
gives them. The attempt to increase the natural warmth imparted 
by the hair is only a custom, and a bad custom at that, often caus- 
ing headaches. If we would only accustom ourselves to go about 
without a head-covering, no matter the weather, we should have 
no fear of either rheumatism or pains in the head, even if we were 
obliged to sit in a "bad draught." We should soon, however, re- 
gard the idea of a "draught" in the light of superstitious fancy. 

Only the ears need protection when the weather is severely 
cold. Besides, it is merely a figure of speech to speak of the 
warmth provided by a hat. As a fact, it does nothing of the kind. 
The wearing of a hat checks the natural warmth of the head, 
hinders the proper evaporation of the injurious perspiration, and 
causes baldness. 

An entirely opposite reason is that it is a protection from heat. 
It is said that the heat of the sun's rays beating upon the head is 
harmful; this is merely fancy. In the tropics Europeans are 
compelled to wear hats, yet the bare-headed negro goes about 
unharmed by the fierce equatorial sun. We ought, therefore, to 
be able to accustom ourselves to bear the milder heat of our 
northern climate. I know a certain professor who is absolutely 
bald; nevertheless, he always returns from his summer holidays 
with his skull as brown as a chestnut. And I have known other 



gentlemen who have left their heads exposed to the sun, wind 
and rain develop quite a little crop of hair. (Massage is also 
good for this). Exposure of the bald scalp to the ultra-violet 
rays of a powerful electric lamp has been known to encourage an 
entirely fresh growth of hair, though, of course, not where the 
hair roots themselves are dead. Our summers are so breezy that 
it is difficult to keep a loose-fitting hat on the head. To remedy 
this it is necessary to press the hat, especially if it be a large, light 
Panama, tightly over the temples. This pressure creates a heat 
that is much more unpleasant than that caused by the sun shining 
on the bare head. Even a light-fitting hat pressing on the arteries 
and veins, checks the circulation of the blood and prevents the 
proper nourishment of these organs, which in turn feed the hair. 

The hat is also worn as a protection against rain. Well, rain- 
water is certainly not so harmful to the hair, as the water which, 
under the name of sweat, collects and stagnates under our thick 
and heavy head-gear. I venture to say, also, that rain-water is 
better for the hair and the skin of the head than several of the 
costly and fanciful hair-washes. Besides, rain-water does not 
remove so much of the natural grease from the hair as salt-water. 
Greasy hair is a sign of health, yet it is remarkable how many 
people are constantly writing to the health columns of the papers, 
inquiring as to the best means of removing greasy hair, which 
discommodes them so much. Yes, even good health incommodes 
some people. Besides, an umbrella is used as a protection from 
rain, and this, alone, should make the wearing of a hat super- 
fluous. But it is astounding how many people take an umbrella 
with them to protect the hat from rain. To all those who would 
accustom themselves to a "Hat of Air" — that is, say, to wear no 
artificial covering at all — I can recommend them to begin in rainy 
weather, and to hide their naked heads and sensitive consciousness 
under the discreet roof of their umbrellas. On encountering an 
acquaintance, the umbrella might be lowered until it rested on the 
head, so that no one could see that it lacked the customary cov- 
ering. 

As a matter of fact, head-gear is only compulsory when it is 
part of a prescribed uniform, and in only a few cases is it of real 
necessity, for instance, as a fire-helmet. I have said above that 
loss of hair and baldness is easily brought about if the head is 
denied the use of light and air. Even were a high price offered, 
no better hot-house for the breeding and rearing of microbes 
could be found than that of a thick felt hat or greasy cap. On the 
other hand, let the microbes be exposed to the rays of the sun and 
there would soon be an end of them. But microbes are not the 
only cause of falling hair, which often follows certain sicknesses ; 
in the majority of cases, however, baldness is attributable to the 



habit of covering the head, as has been provided by recent scien- 
tific investigations. 

I myself have had many years' experience in going about with- 
out a hat. In Copenhagen and in the Danish provincial towns it 
is looked upon as little less than an offence to go hatless, or bare- 
foot, or with sandals ; and it needs a deal of courage to face a 
crowded street like this. 

At any kind of sporting exercise conducive to perspiration, it 
is very objectionable to cover the head. The thick fur caps, to 
the use of which so many skaters and ski-runners seem pre-pos- 
sessed, are simply terrible. When I joined a rowing club in 1893, 
it was the usual custom to row in a cap. Each club has its special 
colors worked on this Vowing cap." But all this is now aban- 
doned. How far I am responsible for this I do not know, but in 
any case, I myself never wore the cap when rowing, and would 
not allow any member of my boat's crew to do so either. 

When I was inspector to the Vejlefjord Sanatorium, I never 
wore any head covering (many of those who were undergoing the 
cure also went about bareheaded) except once a month, when I 
visited the town of Vejle to pay accounts, and once every four 
years, when the directors came. I generally took the steamer to 
the town, which lay some thirteen miles distant. One morning, 
however, I could not find my hat; the boat had sounded its 
whistle, so I was forced to make the journey bareheaded. 

That was the only attempt I ever made to introduce this good 
custom in the town of Vejle. After I had answered, for the for- 
tieth time, the question whether my hat had been blown into the 
water, I was quite weary. In the place where I am living now I 
never wear anything on my head; however, when I have to visit 
Copenhagen, I put on a hat or a cap in order that the good people 
of that city should not experience too great a shock. 

Of late years I have frequently seen cyclists without a cap, 
and it is quite usual, especially in summer, to see people going 
about with their hat in their hands. That is a refreshing sign. 

No fear need be entertained of cold in the head if proper pre- 
caution be taken, by which I mean the daily bath, air or water- 
bath, paying thorough attention to the skin not only of the face, 
hands and feet, but of the whole body. It is common knowledge 
that the largest sweat-pores are found on the head and under the 
soles of the feet. The pores of a neglected skin are either partially 
or completely blocked, and so the perspiration seeks the easiest 
way out, through the head or through the soles of the feet. 
Naturally, this exudation os concentrated and highly poisonous. 
If the perspiration from the head encounters this formidable 
obstruction in the shape of a thick head covering ,the poison 
cannot evaporate, and will, therefore, gradually destroy the hair. 



Should the sweat choose the other way, then it is a case of per- 
shpiring feet. People who suffer from perspiring feet frequently 
possess a fine head of hair (but it does not follow that people with 
good hair always suffer from bad feet). There is a good deal of 
truth in the old folk-saying that it is dangerous to check the 
perspiration of the feet. The poisonous exudation, not being 
able to escape, would be again absorbed by the body. Washing 
of the feet alone will not help in the matter. This will, doubtless, 
take away a part of the unpleasant smell, but the exudation will 
be more copious, because bathing serves to open the pores. No, 
the only proved remedy is to take care that all the pores over the 
whole surface of the body are kept well open, so that the perspi- 
ration has a fre and natural agress everywhere. 

AS TO UNDERCLOTHING. 

Every worthy citizen knows, or thinks that he knows, that it 
is simply suicidal to go without woollen undervests. This is, in 
fact, a gospel in which everybody believes. My experience is 
that the "wool-next-the-skin" doctrine is entirely fallacious. 
Nearly all the present inhabitants of North and Central Europe 
wear a more or less thick and closely-woven woollen undervest, 
and over this a linen shirt, also of thick texture. This is very 
objectionable. Two layers of non-porous underclothing, the 
upper of which fits closely to the under, hinder the respiration 
of the skin to a very great extent; and the skin, moreover, be- 
comes enervated if the bottom layer is of wool. In cold weather 
it is much better to wear a great coat over the usual clothing 
than a woollen undervest under the shirt. Entering a warm 
room, the great coat can be immediately removed, but the woollen 
vest must remain, be the heat ever so unbearable. 

According to the opinion of the greatest hygienists of the 
present day, the wearing of a single shirt of wool, as recom- 
mended by Professor Jaeger, is almost as unhealthy. Both in 
Pastor Kneipp's and in Dr. Lahmann's writings the falsity of 
the "wool-next-the-skin" custom was proved. Dr. Lahmann says 
of wool clothing that it seems very pleasant at first, especially in 
winter, for the feeling of warmth and poor health is enhanced. 
He found, however, that by degrees the skin got overheated, and 
this made the wearer susceptible to colds. Dr. Henrik Berk, of 
Stockholm, the author of a well-known text-book of health, calls 
the prevailing passion for wool a horrible humbug, which has 
done as much harm to people as their superstitious trust in 
medicaments. According to his experience, the victims of certain 
wool-wearing faddists become, within the course of about three 
years, nervously weak, and have a horror of cold water, are un- 



commonly susceptible to changes of temperature, and, finally, 
resolve into rheumatic subjects. These are hard words, indeed, 
but one thin gis certain: if the wearing of a single wool shirt is 
dangerous to the health, it must be much worse to wear two. 

The following direct question has been put to me: "Why 
should a woollen undervest, which absorbs the perspiration, and 
which is reepatedly changed and aired, be more injurious than a 
linen shirt, which onl yabsorbs the perspiration very slowly and 
does not easily part with it again, but becomes stiff and sticky, if 
it cannot be immediately changed?" 

My reply is that the discussion does not usually treat of the 
comparison between a linen and a wollen shirt, but of the com- 
parison between wearing a linen shirt only and wearing a linen 
shirt together with a woollen vest ; and, as said above, two thick- 
nesses of underclothing are too much. 

It is quite true that a woollen undervest easily absorbs the 
sweat, without becoming cold and wet; that, however, is just 
where the fault lies : a woollen vest causes the wearer to sweat 
too easily. While preparing your outfit for some strenuous sport 
you must bear in mind that you will perspire a good deal. After 
the exercise, you take a bath and put on other clothes. During 
an ordinary day's work, in ordinary complete clothing, it is very 
annoying to sweat. This is easily avoided by wearing light and 
porous clothing, nl fact, less danger of catching cold is incurred 
when the coat or waistcoat are opened, thereby allowing a cool 
draught of air to make its way under the shirt, at the same time 
preventing the exudation sof the skin from condensation into 
sweat, than when a sweat-saturated, damp, woollen undervest is 
worn on the body over which the other clothes are carefully and 
tightly buttoned. 

Finally, I may say that, according to my own experience, a 
stratum of pure linen open work is best suited for underclothing. 
This is warm in winter, partly because there is plenty of room for 
this warmer air, which is the best means of obtaining warmth. 
In summer, on the other hand, it is cooler and more pleasant than 
closely-woven linen, because the exudations evaporate more easily 
through the porous material, so that no drops of sweat can 
accumulate on the skin. 

My ideal is to get accustomed to the wear of as few clothes 
as possible. I am horrified when I contemplate the number of 
layers under which "over-civilized" man has concealed himself, 
and the number of which will certainly increase, unless a stop be 
put to it in time. If under all these layers wool is worn, the skin 
becomes more pampered and delicate than when the undercloth- 
ing consists of linen-mesh, cotton, or Ramie. 



CHAPTER V. 
The Proper Care of the Feet. 

The foot is the part of the body that is placed farthest from 
the centre of the blood-circulation. It is not surrounded by any 
warming layer of fat; in-doors it encounters the lowest and, 
therefore, the coldest air-strata, and, out of doors, it comes in 
contact with the frozen or damp earth or cold flag-stones. In 
winter by snow and ice it is deprived of much more warmth, 
comparatively speaking, than the air draws from the other parts 
of the body. But Nature has so ordained that the feet, in the 
ordinary, reepated movement of walking, always carrying a heavy 
weight, must do more work than any other part of the body. 
They are so constructed that they, by means of this fundamental 
exercise, would keep every limb and every joint in a lively state 
of efficiency, creating and maintaining the necessary warmth if 
the modern, unnatural foot-gear had never been introduced. 

Many people do not trust to their feet, now, in order to get 
about. The foot has become a lifeless, jointless lump of flesh, 
only serviceable to fill out and to keep the shape of that new 
specimen of modern handiwork, the stocking-lined boot, and 
might be just as well made of plaster of Paris ; much better so, 
indeed, for then it would be without feeling, a condition often 
devoutly wished by the possesors of these dead-alive enormities. 

Sandals are undoubtedly the best form of footwear, as I have 
proved by personal experience of them during many years. Let 
us look closely into the advantages of wearing them. There is, 
firstly, the hygienic side of the question. By their use the feet 
harden, and the wearer, by degrees, becomes less susceptible to 
all those affections that arise from cold, perspiring or tender feet. 
No wonder, then, that I was told in one of the chief places where 
they are sold that these sandals were purchased largely by physi- 
cians for the use of their families. The few voices that have 
been raised against the use of sandals are heard mainly from! 
people who have never made a trial of wearing sandals ; some- 
what like the blind man expressing his opinions on color. 
Naturally it is not wise when wearing sandals for the first time 
to walk through the snow or when the evening dew is rising; 
thei rinauguration should be reserved for the dry weather or a 
sunny summer day. 

If anyone contract a cold, he should rather blame his own 
thoughtlessness — not the sandals. It would be just as illogical 
to prohibit the use of stairs or windows because, now and then, 
a little child happens to meet its death by falling down or out of 



either. The feet will become more and more hardened if sandals 
are worn constantly at home and as much as possible out-doors ; 
and sore toes, collosities, corns and such like inconveniences, 
which hinder quick and constant walking, will disappear by 
degrees. 

To guard against misunderstanding, I would like to mention 
that it would not, of course, occur to me to appear at funerals 
or in society with blackened sandals. When, however, the feet 
and toes have regained their natural shape, they will strongly 
resist being squeezed once more into the narrow modern torture- 
chambers which we call boots. The shoemaker must be gently 
but firmly persuaded to make proper foot-wear, not on the ordi- 
nary last, but according to the natural shape of our own feet — 
that is, not the awkward and tight monstrosity that was the 
fashion before people began to wear sandals. 

While discussing these hygienic advantages, I must not 
neglect to mention one especial point, that the use of sandals will 
correct a malformation of the foot — I mean flat-footedness. This 
ugly infirmity is traceable to many different causes. It may arise 
as may varicose veins, from the fact that the sufferer has to stand 
all day in one position, as must be done, for example, in many a 
factory and office. 

This complaint is not developed by the rational use of our 
extremities, and never occurs in one who energetically exercises 
them in a proper manner. Running on the soles of the feet, as 
the negroes do, is another cause of flat-footedness ; and, finally, 
it can be inherited, by which I mean the inherited ignorance of 
the proper care and exercise of the foot. In most cases the harm 
is done when we are children, the natural consequence of squeez- 
ing the instep, highly arched by Nature, into straight and narrow 
foot-wear. The instep loses thereby the power of keeping its 
form under the weight of the body; the same effect is brought 
about by the use of the corset, the bust and waist of a woman 
being unable to maintain their natural shape without the help of 
this artificial support. As sandals indicate, ina physical respect, 
an important advance in culture, so will the level of our culture 
be considerably raised in the aesthetic sense when their use is 
common. At present it so happens that only an exceptionally 
small number of people, not even one artist or doctor of medicine, 
knows how a really normal and naturally delevloped, beautiful 
and harmoniously formed foot should look. The ideal of beauty 
conceived by the majority is that of the Parisian lady of fashion 
— a foot much too small with an unnaturally high arch, squeezed 
into patent leather shoes, tapering to a point like a needle, and 
with high heels. But take away this outward gear, together with 
the silk stockings, and we shall see a crippled foot, crooked, bent 



toes all crushed and sore, red collosities and yellow corns. Can 
we then declare that this deformity is an ideal of beauty? 

When sandals are first worn it is imperative that every care 
of the feet be taken, so that they acquire by degrees their genuine, 
true and natural beauty ; as can be done with the waist only when 
corsets are discarded. A new, hitherto unknown ethical feeling 
will then become general: to do away with the impertinence of 
crippling by force certain parts of our bodies under pretence of 
bettering the master work of God by the help of the boot-maker. 

Here are a few small, practical hints. When first wearing 
sandals, rub vaseline or something similar into the foot; this 
will prevent any soreness likely to arise from the chafing of the 
straps. After a week the skin of the feet will have become so 
hardened that even walking over loose and sharp gravel will cause 
no discomfort. 

As often as opportunity offers — when walking on a warm and 
sunny country road or on soft sand — the sandals should be car- 
ried in the hand. This saves wear and tear to the sandals, besides 
hardening and thickening the soles of the feet. There is no need 
to be apprehensive of tetanus bacilli or of such-like cattle; for 
these things flourish better in the fancy of learned men than in 
the light and sunshine. The soles of the feet will soon become so 
horny that stray pieces of glass or small needles will do no harm. 

Country boys, you will recollect, have gone barefoot for ages 
over stony paths and fields of stubble and thistle without suffer- 
ing any hurt worthy of the name. And how much better to go 
protected by the thick sole of the sandal! 

There is much ignorance and fallacy abroad concerning such 
a matter as this. A short time ago, for instance, I read in a news- 
paper much in circulation among the Danes, the following advice 
to a subscriber who had enquired as to the best means of pro- 
tecting the feet from cold : "Wear two pairs of stockings." This 
was about as wrong and silly an answer as could possibly have 
been given. (Taking this advice, why not wear three or more 
pairs of stockings?) Tight stockings, narrow foot-wear, allow- 
ing insufficient freedom to the foot, are the commonest causes of 
cold feet. If the stockings are dirty and saturated with perspira- 
tion, or the boots be damp, the evil is naturally aggravated. What 
would be the result, then, if two pairs of stockings be worn? 
Why, the already tight books would give still less room to the 
toes, which are squeezed together, and kept absolutely rigid. 
Further, the skin of the feet rendered delicate by all this coddling 
and doubl wrapping, loses the faculty of engendering and main- 
taining warmth, because the highly necessary respiration of the 
pores is checked, causing complete exhaustion. All building ex- 
perts know that double outer walls with an air space between 



keep the interior warmer than solid and massive ones, the simple 
reason being that air is a very bad heat conductor. 

People who walk a great deal rarely suffer from cold feet, 
which is an inconvenience often common to those who are forced 
to remain sitting either at business or at home. In a room, the 
coldest stratem of air sinks to the floor, and it is, therefore, ad- 
visable that the feet be kept in a raised position. If circumstances 
do not permit of this, there is no better or pleasanter method of 
keeping the feet warm than by placing thm, naked or sandaled, 
in a little foot-sack of fur. By way of experiment, I have tried 
sitting still in a cold room until my feet were thoroughly chilled, 
though I was wearing thick stockings and heavy laced boots. I 
tried the effect of slippers, and they were of no avail, but when 
I drew off my boots and stockings and put my feet into an open 
foot-sack, where they had room for movement and the skin could 
freely perspire, I found my feet regaining their natural warmth 
after the lapse of a few minutes. 

Now as to the sort of sandal to wear. I had previously tried 
various English and German patterns, but they were not durable, 
and the strappings were far from suitable. They do not even 
deserve the name of sandals, for the wake that covers the toes 
prevents these from getting any light and air. Sand and gravel 
accumulates under this leather covering, heating and chafing the 
flesh, whereas with the sandal that leaves the foes free, a slight 
tap of the foot suffices to dislodge any gravel or small stones. 

Last year, quite by chance, I came across an illustrated article 
in a Danish paper showing some excellent examples of sandals. 
I gave orders to my shoemaker to make me a pair after one of the 
designs, and found the method of strapping to be both practical 
and effective. As, however, I wanted a sandal suitable for the 
naked foot, I hit upon the improvement of having the foot strap 
between the big and second toes — after the style of antique 
statues. This prevents the use of the ordinary stock, but, never- 
theless, it permits a greater control over the foot which, other- 
wise, in walking always has a tendency to slip sideways. At the 
same time a space is formed between the above-named toes, and 
this is the first stage in the cultivation of the classically formed 
foot. 

If you cannot wear sandals every day, at least wear air-socks 
— that is, no socks at all. 

What paterfamilias would not gladl ysave the money for 
these articles of clothing, and what housewife would not hail 
with joy a release from the eternal darning of stockings? 

I myself have never had the experience of cold feet, but I 
know many who have suffered therewith, but have now been 
freed from this plague simply because they have ceased to wear 



stockings. Particularly unfit are the thick, tight-fitting, machine- 
woven socks and stockings, so much in use at present, for they 
seriously check skin-respiration and blood circulation. The evil 
is aggravated in the case of long stockings pulled tightly over the 
feet, as is the custom with many ladies, and fastened with a strong, 
elastic band that causes a constant stoppage of the circulation. 

When stockings are no longer worn there will be an end of 
these harmful india-rubber and leather garters which are fastened 
either just below or above the knee. They will, unfortunately, 
continue to be worn by country people, who, consequently, suffer 
with varicose veins and incurable running sores on the legs. 

As I have already referred — in the chapter on the "air-hat" — 
to the advantage of warm currents of air having complete access 
to the feet, Ineed not repeat it here. But I would have it borne 
in mind that stockings are very often the cause of lasting disfig- 
urement to the feet. It is of not much use to give up tight and 
pointed foot-wear if the wearing of ordinary tight stockings, 
those that are made to suit either foot, ending in the middle in a 
funnel-shaped tip, is persisted in. 

This form of stocking presses the toes together in an oblique 
position, so that they cannot spread in a natural way when 
walking, and do not, therefore, fill out the broad, comfortable 
boots that, we will suppose, have been just purchased. Neither 
can they perform the important functions of the muscles called 
into action by the natural gait. The toes and instep are originally 
intended to bend and stretch with each step. Every time the foot 
is set to earth and the heel has done its work, the toes and ball of 
the foot should simultaneously grip, maintain and then repulse. 
The big toe is of especial need here, but, unfortunately, this toe 
is generally out of its place, being bent inwards or squeezed 
either over or under the other toes. In normal conditions the 
great toe ought to be divided from the others by a perceptible 
gap, and pointed outwards. Besides this, it is generally depressed 
because of its length, hence that painful evil known as "ingrow- 
ing toe-nail." 

The foot and toes are only free to act naturally when naked 
or when protected by a pliant and correctly-shaped sandal. In 
a roomy boot or shoe this can, at least in some measure, be 
achieved; not only will the foot be kept warm, but the bones, 
muscles, tendons, and skin invigorated. 

In the event of the feet not being sufficiently hardened, or 
for any other reason boots cannot be borne next to the bare feet, 
I would commend the use of stockings so shaped that, in any 
case, they would not be seriously harmful. 

Instead of a point in the centre of the toe end, the stocking 
should be made with a slanting finish to the fore part, so that 



the point would lie on the inner sid ewhere the great toe would 
come. 

In Germany, machine-woven socks of this shape were intro- 
duced by th etrade some little time ago. It is to be hoped that 
this reform won't take so many years to come into general use. 
Dr. Ferd. Aug. Schmidt draws especial attention, in his remark- 
able work, "Our Body," to the fact that it will need a determined 
revolution before we shall be able to have our girls taught in the 
schools what the natural shape of the foot ought to be and, con- 
sequently, how to knit their stockings. How far, however, does 
the knowledge of our schoolmistresses reach in this respect? How 
long must we confess to the truth of Professor Starcke's accusa- 
tion: "Nature has provided our great toes with seven strong 
muscles, all of which have been condemned to uselessness and 
lameness by the careful hands of knitting mothers?" 

The knitting of normal stockings will certainly not necessi- 
tate more labor nor the use of more work, and it will render 
them more durable, because the great toe will no longer show the 
inclination to bore its way free, as it does in the case of the old, 
unnaturally- formed wrappings. 

There are alos socks with a special place provided for the big 
toe, resembling mittens, some even with a stall for each toe, like 
gloves. (These are to be bought in most shops where they sell 
Dr. Jager's sanitary underclothing.) Such socks are intended 
to give a well-rounded for mto each toe, but they are exception- 
ally cold and, of course, expensive. As they require more time 
to put on, I don't think they will become very popular. They are, 
however, of temporary use to those who wish to keep their feet 
in good condition, so that later they can accustom themselves to 
the wearing of "air-socks" — that is, none at all. 

But I must warn by readers that no good can be expected to 
result if people suddenly determine to wear on their neglected 
toes and tender skin the ordinary tight foot-wear without stock- 
ings. I take this opportunity of calling attention to that which is 
required in a raional boot. Many people have an idea that the 
boot is eevrything it should be if, instead of being pointed, it is 
broad and square. 

Such boots have, on the front outer side, a large three-cor- 
nered empty and superfluous space, while the great toe is still 
pressed inwards, and the instep and little toe have to undergo a 
certain pressure. See for yoursel fthe right outline for the shape 
of the sole by placing the naked foot, with the whole weight of 
the body resting upon it, upon a piece of paper, stretching the 
toes so that they spread out fan-wise, and then with a pencil held 
perpendicularly care full y trace round the foot, and a perfect pat- 
tern for the sandal is obtained (see illustrations in the chapter on 



the wearing of sandals). But should it be intended to make this 
the pattern for the sole of a boot or shoe, it should be made a 
trifle longer, so that there be a small space in front of the toes to 
prevent them from rubbing against the leather. 

If the boot be now buttoned or laced up, the foot will be able 
neither to shuffle nor slide about. But so much space must be 
provided that each toe can move freely; the upper must not join 
the outer edge of the sole obliquely or flat, but a piece must rise 
perpendicularly, enough to provide that the highest point is di- 
rectly over the big toe — not over the middel toe, as is customary 
with the usual and bad syste mof shoe-making. 

It is to be understood that the heel must be low and broad. 
The hollow must be as small as possible, and must always be 
placed on the inner side. The overstrung artificial support of 
the hollow slackens the tendons even of a sound foot, helping to 
cause flat-footedness. 

I would recommend ladies especially to have their foot-wear 
made after the above description; then it would be seen by the 
outer form of the boot that the foot within was well-formed and 
pretty. It is enough to make me feel ill when I observe a modern 
lady's boot, and picture what the foot and toes inside must look 
like. 

The very best preparation for the use of air-socks is to wear 
sandals throughout the summer, if not at business then during 
the hours of freedom, on Sundays and through the summer 
holidays. The skin will thus become hardened, and the feeling 
of embarrassment that is natural when anybody goes about for 
the first time with naked feet will wear away. It will then be 
merely a question of pleasing oneself to put boots on the naked 
feet; and no harm will arise if the boots are made to the above 
description. 

If the wearer of sandals has been accustomed to it for some 
time he will also have acquired the habit of washing his feet at 
least once a day, not counting the morning bath. It is self-evident 
that thorough cleanliness and careful attention as regards the 
feet are necessary when no stockings are worn. 

Even when the autumn and winter come there is no necessity 
to put on stockings if the boots are water-tight, well-soled and 
roomy. 

If one is forced to stand still a great deal out-of-doors, it is 
as well to place extra soles in the boot, which must ,howeevr, be 
stiff — soles of plaited straw, for instance — for soles of soft ma- 
terial, such as felt or cloth, become wrinkled in the act of walking. 

On long marches or walks in summer sandals are the only 
rational form of foot-wear; in the cold part of the year, through 



sand or in muddy streets water-tight boots will be found of ad- 
vantage. 

To protect the feet from blisters and other troubles incident 
to pedestrians, it is as well, before a long march, to dress the 
feet with vaseline, tallow o rpowder. If the march last for 
several days, bathe the feet every evening in methylated spirit 
afte rthey have been thoroughly cleansed in water. 

As the boots become soiled by the constant friction of the 
feet, it is better, in this case, to swathe the feet in linen rags or, 
more exactly, in a linen bandage, taking care, however, to avoid 
any creases. The linen bandage can be strapped fairly tightly 
round the foot, as the action in walking will stretch it, and it 
will thus accommodate itself to the foot. It would prove a real 
blessing in walking were soldiers allowed to wear bandages of 
cotton or linen instead of their thick, hot, woollen socks that, 
badly darned as they always are, irritate and compress the feet. 
Bandages are also cheaper and easier to wash and quicker to dry. 

Several ladies and gentlemen have written me, asking how 
they can avoid showing other people that they wear no stockings ; 
for it is certainly awkward when sitting cross-legged in company 
or when mounting stairs in front of anybody. Though it may be 
considered healthy and comfortable, one does not wish to create 
the impression among one's fellows that one is incompletely 
dressed. In shoes one's skin is absolutely exposed, and even when 
wearing lace-boots and drawers it can easily happen that the 
latter may ruck up, leaving a strip of bare skin visible above the 
boot. 

I advise male enquirers wearing boots to fix a rubber band 
to the drawers and pass it under the sole of the foot; to those 
who wear shoes I recommend that they should either wear riding 
straps fixed to the trousers or the upper part of a sock (to ladies 
I recommend the leg of a stocking). These garter-like coverings 
could also be fixed by an elastic band under the instep, of course 
passing inside the shoe. 

It is better not to let these stocking trunks go below the ankles, 
where they would chafe the heel. The straps must be fairly long, 
and it is bets that they should be of elastic, and so placed that 
they pass exactly under the instep. If they get under the heel 
they are likely to break or chafe the skin. 



CHAPTER VI. 

How to Lie Abed. 

An "air shirt" is quite simple: it consists of going to bed 
without any garment on at all. One might call it taking an air- 
bath. The one who accustoms himself to this in summer will 
find it so pleasant that he will never go to bed in a night-shirt, 
even during the severe winter with the windows open. 

This custom is very popular with advocates of the open air- 
bath. It is not new, having been very common in the olden time. 
Historical paintings can be seen wherein kings and people of 
noble degree are depicted lying or sitting up, naked ,in bed, and 
being waited upon by their chamber-servants. Formerly it was 
believed that the painters concerned had allowed themselves a 
certain artistic freedom in this matter, but the latest investiga- 
tions prove that thees picures represent faithfully the manners 
and customs of the time. It is another example of an old and 
good, but forgotten, custom, which modern hygienists have 
revived. 

As we are on the subjetc of beds, I take the opportunity of 
setting my face against those false ideas as to which is the best 
position in which to lie when asleep. Without doubt it is best 
to be only on the right side, instead of on the back, as some people 
lie, stretching their arms out as far as they will go. At the same 
time, I would poin tout that it is healthiest to lie on a hrad, or, 
at least, firm, mattress, and certainly not on a feather-bed. Lying 
on the back does not agree with what physiology teaches us. In 
this position, a normally-grown body rests on the neck, shoulder- 
blades, buttocks, calves, and heels. The other portions of the 
body, especially the lower part of the back, can only be main- 
tained in their natural position by a partial straining of the 
muscles. This results in lassitude, and even pain in the loins. 
On the other hand, there is the opinion that, in the case of a 
feather-bed being used, the whole surface of the back can rest, 
the bed conforming itself to the shape of the body. Experience 
teaches us, however, that sleep in this position is often accom- 
panied with snoring, troubled dreams, and nightmare. A sloping 
mattress is in this, as well as all other positions, superfluous — 
indeed, often harmful, and a very thin pillow should be provided, 
which, when lying on one's side, can be doubled, or the hand and 
forearm can be used to prop it up. 

Lie, therefore, on the right-hand side, with the feet drawn up, 
more or less; for in this position the heart can beat freely, and 
the digestive organs perform their functions, because the liver is 



undisturbed. In this position the bowels may be slightly dis- 
placed; but this can easily be prevented b yaccustoming oneself 
to put the left hand under the body, just above the right hip, as 
many people do instinctively. Lying on the letf side is not good, 
because the liver then rests on the other intestines, and the hearc 
cannot work os freely. 

Only people with strong chests and powerful muscular de- 
velopment can lie on the stomach, sometimes resting the head on 
their crossed arms, or on one or both hands. When compelled to 
lie, without a pillow, on the hard, bare floor, this last-mentioned 
is the only possible position which can be taken to ensure rest 
for any length of time, and awaking without that feeling of being 
completely "knocked up." Lying on the floor has one advantage 
— there is plenty of rom to so place the right hand os that the 
right cheek can be supported by the upper arm. Besides these 
positions, there are a number of others, of which some are very 
convenient, such as lying half on the right side and half on the 
stomach, with the right arm thrown behind the back. 

To the enquiry, therefore, which position should be chosen, 
the answer can only be: "Please yourself!" Weak and nervous 
people ought to be advised to lie as much as possible on the right 
side. Healthy people can change the position when half awake, 
or do so quite mechanically when sound asleep. Others wake up 
for a second or two and seek a fresh resting-place, either by 
turning over in bed, or by stretching the legs, which have, per- 
haps, been lying in a cramped position. If one prefers to sleep 
on the back, the hand should be placed under the hollow of the 
back to support it. 

One should not lie always in the same position, because this 
disturbs the harmonious deevlopment of the body cells. To 
obtain sound and good rest ,it is correct, from a physiological 
standpoint, and best in practice, to change the positions occa- 
sionally. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Art of Eating and Fasting. 

Horace Fletcher, an American, author of a book on nutrition, 
lays down the following principle of health: "Chew the food 
until it becomes quite fluid by the action of the powerful saliva 
secretions (and until there is no more taste in it) ; eat only twice 
daily, and every time as little as possible; also hold whatever 
you are drinking a moderate time in the mouth." If these direc- 
tions be followed, claims the author, the putrifying process in 



the stomach will cease. All weakness will disappear, and man- 
kind will be able to rejoice in the long-wi shed- for happiness of 
perfect health. 

It is a case of small deeds and bi gresults, and whilst there is 
a great deal of truth in the foregoing dictum, are not the infer- 
ences too precipitate and comprehensive? After several years' 
experience, I hav found that the most nourishing diet consists of 
a mixed fare of meat and vegetables taken twice daily, morning 
and afternoon (children and nervous elderly people must eat 
more after tea), merely to appease the natural hunger, care being 
taken to masticate the food thoroughly — taking no drink at the 
same time, this being of great importance. There are two ex- 
ceptions to this much extolled method of Feltcher's which I 
should like to name. In the first place, it will prove to be abso- 
lutely impracticable; and only a small portion of the public will 
care to follow the directions. The method is too troublesome 
and intricate, and requires more patience and self-control than 
most people at present possess. Whether it is in itself — as is 
claimed for it — a gastronomic delight is a matter for conjecture, 
especially as opinion sare so divided on the question of taste. 
Without doubt, there are many who will find it not very pelasant 
to eat with the mouth full of saliva, especially as there are other 
and more agreeable ways of keeping the stomach in order. But, 
after all, the chief thing is that the method can scarcely gain any 
great amount of popularity so long as it is only suitable for a few 
pensioned officials, independent gentlemen, or hypochondriacs. 

In the second place, thorough self-application to this new art 
of eating, which leaves so disproportionately large a part of the 
task of digestion to the mouth, includes the possibility of other 
hygienic dangers. One writer on this subject is of the opinion 
that all sickness proceeds from the intestinal passages. This is 
certainly correct concerning a considerable number of illnesses, 
but there are other ways through which poisonous matter may 
enter our body, and other possibilities of their development in the 
body, the blood and the organs concerned being thus enervated. 
Meanwhile, it is certain that Nature has provided our digestive 
organs, and especially the intestines, with a large variety of means 
for the expulsion of any germs that might be present. If we are 
not too loaded with the latter, all minor and glands that come 
under this heading are so provided and in such a position as to 
separate the different poisons and neutralize them. (Even such 
an exterior organ as the skin, when in good condition, takes part 
in this purification in no small degree ,so that one writer is com- 
pletely wrong when he says that rubbing and treatment of the 
outer cuticle must serve merely for the sake of external cleanli- 
ness.) The above-named organs and glands are only to be kept 



healthy when they are accustomed to be used according to 
Nature's decree, and when energetic blood is introduced to them 
by systematic gymnastic treatment of the intestines; but, on the 
contrary, if every activity be denied them, as it would be accord- 
ing to the new method of eating I have referred to, they would, 
in accordance wit ha simple law of nature, slowly wither away. 
Whilst Mr. Fletcher and others lay special emphasis on the im- 
portance of mixing saliva as a means of controlling the appetite, 
it is therefore of great importance to know to what degree we 
can limit our food without exposing ourselves to the danger of 
depreciating our mental and physical strength. If a scanty and 
measured diet is really advantageous for the body, it behooves us 
to know simply how far we may go in diminishing the quantity 
of our food without complicating the problem by the introduc- 
tion of others. My opinion, therefore, is this : The saliva method 
is a thing apart; in an aesthetic respect, it is impracticable and 
impossible. 

FASTING. 

In the winter I often hear people complain of sleepiness — 
people, moreover, who have the opportunity of sleeping through 
the entire night and also part of the day. The reason for this 
must be attributed to the time of year and to the weather. Why 
not hibernate like the bear, and sleep through this grey, un- 
healthy part of winter, only to awake and recover strength when 
the sun begins to shine in February? It is said that the Russian 
peasants vegetate through the whole winter in a half-sleeping 
condition in their huts, and only creep once a week — on aStur- 
days generally — to take a highl ynecessary bath in the snow and 
to eat some mouldy bread, with brandy to wash it down. This 
done they continue their comatose condition until the following 
Saturday. If only it were a case of being able to put the methods 
of the bears or of the Russian peasants into practice, those of us 
who had had a thoroughly good sleep during the winter would 
not be under so much temptation to doze away through the long, 
light, fresh summer mornings. W T e should then, in other words, 
attain this long neglected good : the fertilization of our health — 
which only begins to excite interest as it is about to slip from our 
hands. To continue this dream experiment of a winter sleep, 
what benetfi would it not be to the human stomach if it could only 
have undisturbed rest for several months, this poor digestive 
machine, overladen and oiled with poisons, worked at high pres- 
sure from childhood, and, therefore, becoming unfit for work 
long before the expiration of its functional life? 

In this respetc we can learn from the lower animals the value 
of fasting. Animals kept in zoological gardens have a weekly 



fast day, and if this weer omitted would quickly fall ill. In sum- 
mer, when I have so much opportunity for exercise in the open 
air, I can very well eat three meals — breakfast, dinner and sup 
per; in winter, on the other hand, I deny myself supper. One 
year, however, I forgot to omit supper, and I found that my 
surplus of good health — upon which I had always rested my claim 
as a corresponding reward for the time I had consecrated to 
sport and for my moderation in the enjoyment of stimulants — 
was lacking. I recollected at once that my stomach was at fault, 
for I had completely forgotten to regulate it and to extinguish 
one of these meals. That was on a Friday afternoon, and I 
immediately determined to go without my supper. On Saturday 
I did my ordinary work, went through my regular gymnastic 
exercises and refreshed my strength with a bath ; I took three 
half-glasses of cold water instead of three meals that day. On 
Sunday morning I again drank half a glass, ran for a stretch, 
took a bath at n o'clock, and felt again as sound as a fish in 
water. I was not especially hungry, but had a respectable appe- 
tite for breakfast. 

It is often pure chance that causes us to acquire a healthy 
habit. A short time ago I went on a journey with the proprietor 
of a large factory, one of the quickest and surest calculators that 
I had ever learnt to know. He had been in weak health pre- 
viously ,but then felt extraordinarily well and strong. While 
reading an old ordinance, in which the inhabitants of a certain 
town were forbidden to disturb the tranquility of the sheets after 
eight o'clock in the evening, the good idea occurred to him to 
begin his night also at eight o'clock, with the result that he felt 
so much stronger that he could undertake severe mental labor at 
three or four in the morning. 

If anyone after reading these lines should feel disposed to go 
somewhat earlier to bed, or, feeling his stomach somewhat out 
of order, should fast for a day, then I have obtained my object. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Light and Air-Baths in Public Institutions. 

By the friendly invitation of President Muller, of Konigs- 
wald, I visited last July (1906) the extensive and beautiful 
"King Frederic-Augustus Baths," built by that gentleman, situ- 
ated in the centre of miles of pine- forest that grow on the plain 
of Dresden. A little river, the Priesnitz, supplies both the gentle- 
men's and the ladies's swimming baths, as well as the hydro- 



therapeutic department of the bath. Well-appointed and roomy 
gymnasiums for both sexes, and spacious grounds for air and 
sun-baths, surrounded by beautiful trees, are to be found here, 
as well as large sandy courts open to every aspect of the sun. 
Here in the midst of beautiful and natural surroundings, fanned 
by balmy forest breezes rich in ozone, far from the tumult of 
town; here wheer eevry convenience and comfort that may be 
desired by sound or sick seeking recreation or recovery is to be 
found, I spnt eight never-to-be-forgotten days, accompanied by 
my son, who became strongly attracted to the great swimming- 
bath, in which he spent nearly the whole of every day sporting 
with a company of boys like himself. (He did not, of course, 
understand thei Ylanguage, but this fact seems not to have been 
the slightest obstacle to his thorough enjoyment.) I came here 
partly to study the methods of modern air-baths, partly to give 
teachers free instruction in "My System." As will be seen in the 
accompanying photographs, the concourse of people who wished 
to learn from me was so large that I had very little time for car- 
rying out the first intention, and was obliged to confine myself to 
acting as leader and teacher, Herr Junkel, the able gymnastic 
instructor to the baths, giving me valuable assistance. Twice, 
sometimes four times a day we went through "My System," I 
explaining all the difleernt difficulties in every single exercise. I 
also found an opportunity to give a demonstration in the ladies' 
department of the bath. The weather was beautiful throughout, 
the sun shining brightly and shedding a generous warmth. Hav- 
ing finished the gymnastic exercises, all bedewed with perspira- 
tion, it was a delicious experience to turn to the cool water that 
lay, clear as crystal, in the big lake, and give exhibitions in fancy 
swimming. 

At the end of August I dwelt for some time at the light and 
air home on the Waidberg, at Hoengg, near Zurich. There, in 
the midst of a pine-forest, stands the large air-bathing establish- 
ment, consisting of whole colonies of so-called air-houses and air- 
huts, the latter being open in the front as well as in the eaves 
under the roof. These dwellings are occupied by visitors, who 
very often spend their holidays with their wives and children in 
this veritable paradise. Other visitors to the air and sun-baths 
come here daily from the town, bringing books, writing materials 
or handiwork ; while they may often be seen climbing the moun- 
tains with food and books, and pushing infant-carriages. In one 
of the corners, shut off by means of a wooden partition, are the 
water and sun-baths, each with their separate compartments for 
ladies and gentlemen. Here, quite naked, lie, on little wooden 
benches, the inveterate sun-worshippers for hours, letting their 
bodies get roasted brown. 



More interesting, and certainly no less healthy, are the means 
of enjoyment chosen by others, who seek the spacious lawns, 
playing games or engaging in sports. Monotonous wooden 
fences or buildings do not enclose thees lawns, but only a low 
flourishing hedge, and behind that the forest. The passer-by 
outside is not prevented from contemplating this paradise through 
the hedge. He, perspiring in his thick clothes, is at liberty to 
observe for awhile this happy group of people living in a state 
of Nture. The entrance is not far away, and by paying a modest 
sum such envious observers will be admitted and welcomed to 
the ranks of those within. 

The attire for ladies consists of a loose short empire-gown ; 
that for men and children of loose knickers of openwork flax. A 
few wear straw hats and sandals, but the majority go bare- footed 
and bare-headed. It was interesting to observe the natural tact 
and fine feeling that prevailed, and to compare them with the 
constraint and hypocritical etiquette of false culture. I could not 
help thinking of the condition of things in Denmark, where men 
and women are not allowed to bathe together, even if they are 
related to each other. 

The spots that attract the largest number of enthusiasts at 
the public air-baths, including nearly every one advanced in years 
of both sexes, are the various games of ball. I learnt several 
amusing games, in which an almost unlimited number of players 
could take part. As an alternative, walks can be taken in the 
forest around, or even farther afield. One day my wife and I, 
with some thirty others, made an expedition lasting several 
hours, to the Katzensee, where we enjoyed an excellent swim. 
The way led through several villages, but nobody stared at us, 
although we were clothed as above described. I was told that 
anybody could go about in this fashion through the whole canton 
of Zurich and not be molested in the slightest degree. 

It was not always so, howeved. The founder of this light- 
and-air home, and the soul of the life and sport there, Herr 
Stern, formerly a country parson — he has the figure of a giant — 
a few years ago, while walking through the lonely mountain 
forests of the Bernese Oberland, was arrested because he had 
nothing on but a pair of bathing-drawers. Taking eevrything 
into consideration, this was hardly the correct uniform for a care- 
taker of souls ; but he determined at that moment to lay aside 
his black coat in earnest, and has never had occasion to regret 
his decision. 

One Sunday at his establishment he instituted a great festival 
of sport. It consiste dof contests in running, wrestling, throwing 
the spear and discus, long and high jumping, horizontal and 
parallel bar exercises, and a number of ball games, the whole 



concluding with a distribution of prizes and a beauty competition, 
at which I, together with the sculptor, Professor Freitag, acted 
as judges. There were several hundred contestants and half a 
thousand spectators present. The most remarkable feature of 
the gathering, however, was that the majority, even among the 
onlookers, wore air-bathing costumes. Even the judges, stew- 
ards, etc., wore only knickerbockers; black coats, tall hats, and 
long trailing dresses being conspicuous by their absence, the sun 
shining eevrywhere on naked forms of colors ranging from milk- 
white to nut-brown. Here athletes were wrestling in the centre 
of a circle of inteersted spectators, and there a race was being 
run on naked feet, while at the same time some fifty men and 
women were striving one against the other at games of ball on 
the largest of the lawns. At that moment it occurred to me that 
I had never seen anything in my life like that approaching so 
nearly the gymnastic or athletic contests of the ancient Greeks 
(be it well understood I do not include the modern caricature of 
the ancients in Athens). 

Quite recently a good sun-bath has been opened at Copen- 
hagen. It is situated on the shore rather far from the centre of 
the town. At the opening of the Copenhagen Fresh Air Gym- 
nasium, as it is named, there was a very significant gymnastic 
entetrainment, which took place on the large green-covered open 
ground at the edge of the sea, all who took part in it wearing 
nothing more than small swimming drawers. A party of gym- 
nasts performed with all the various apparatus in the place: 
parallel bars, oRman rings, trapezes, ropes, spring-boards, etc. ; 
heavy (iron) weight exercises weer practised, together with box- 
ing and wrestling in the grounds especially adapted for these 
branches of sport; the object of the display being to disprove 
that we could not in our day and in our climate carry on gym- 
nastics and sports just like the ancient Greeks. 

In the Fresh Air Gymnasium is a special wrestling ground, 
where the earth is dug out and fine sand filled in, the space being 
covered with a roofing of canvas. Several excellent lawn tennis 
courts are also provided, at which the game may be played quite 
free from the hampering inconvenience of clothing, which during 
the hot season makes this sport a rather doubtful pleasure. In 
order to exercise swimming, visitors need only walk across a 
bridge, at the end of which a fully-complete sea-bathing estab- 
lishment is situated, and which is at their disposal without extra 
charge. The ticket of admission to the whole of the Gymnasium 
is only 25 ore for adults and 15 ore for children, with the right 
to spend a whole day on the premises, and there to make use of 
all the apparatus. What specially was of interest to the 500 
country school-teachers, men and women, who had met by invita- 



tion, was the exercises given by a class of boys from a communal 
school. Their gymnastics, with as well as without apparatus, 
tug-of-war, and football with naked feet, met with a lively at- 
tention. When the boys had ended their performance, it was 
pleasing to see the whole party rushing across the bridge and 
finish up with a cleansing and refreshing bath in the waves of 
the Oeresund (the Sound). 

The sight of thees healthy Indian-brown skinned and muscular 
boys, although brought up in small and insanitary surroundings, 
made a strong impression on the country school teachers, so that 
it is very likely that some of them will return home determined 
to make a trial with the "Nude-gymnastic" system. 

The site of the Copenhagen Fresh Air Gymnasium was leased 
to the promoter by the town authorities, but at rather a high rent, 
and in this connection some particulars concerning similar insti- 
tutions in other countries may be interesting. Among the 210 
air-bath institutes of Germany a large number are supported by 
the community, while several which belong to private societies 
are supported out of the public funds. The following belong to 
the latter class: Bayreuth, 100 marks yearly; Bischofswerda, 
200 marks, with the additional allowance of a rent-free site; 
Bielefeld, free ground ; Blankenburg i. Th, 80 marks yearly : 
Blankenburg. a. H., 2,000 marks, with additional advantages; 
Bremen, free ground ; Burkhartsdorf , 300 marks for foundation ; 
Duisburg, 1,000 marks and free ground; Freiburg, 310 marks 
yearly, as well as other conveniences ; Glauchau, Gnesen and 
Jena, free ground; Hagen, 500 marks, with additional advant- 
ages; Ostritz, 700 marks, with additional advantages; Poess- 
neck, 300 marks and other advantages ; Rathenow, free ground ; 
Schleswig, 400 marks and ground free; Steglitz, ground free; 
Thalheim, 150 marks, with advantages; and Wernshausen, free 
ground (see statistics in Dr. Pudor's "Catechism of Naked 
Culture"). 

The Danish papers were misinformed when they said that I 
was thinking of renting some old garden in order to turn it into 
a public sun-bath. For the present I will not bind myself to any 
undertaking of the kind ; but I will gladly give advice and assist- 
ance to anyone who wishes to realize such an idea. I cherish the 
conviction that it would benefit many people. And why should 
such an undertaking not pay quite as well in other countries as it 
does everywhere in Germany, Switzerland and Austria? An old 
villa-garden within the precincts of a town would lend itself 
exactly to the purpose. It must lie near enough to the centre to 
be reached without any serious loss of time, so that those em- 
ployed in reading, writing or other mental labor could spend half 
the day air-and-sun-bathing, at the same time pursuing their vo- 



cations if they were so disposed, instead of perspiring in stuffy 
rooms in incommodious clothes. 

An excellent air-bath was opened last summer in Frankfurt- 
am-Main. It is conveniently situated, being on the borders of 
the town proper, and it cost only about £400 to erect. The air- 
bath consists of an old garden, surrounded by a high wall, built 
of planks, the side opposite dwelling-houses being further height- 
ened by a tall canvas screen. The entrance fee is 30 pfenning. 
A handsome restaurant, large halls for undressing, appliances 
for bathing and shower-baths, arbors wheer meals can be eaten, 
all kinds of gymnastic apparatus and sporting requisites, couches 
and hammocks, table sand benches are all to be found there. In 
the centre is a large grass lawn encircled by a running track. 
One part of the garden has been preserved in its original state, 
being planted with trees, fruit-bearing trees and bushes. Here 
tables and chairs are also provided for those who wish to keep in 
the shade (in very hot weather an air-bath in the shade is as 
healthy as it is pleasant). A special portion of the grounds laid 
out in a similar way is reserved for ladies. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Fresh-Air Schools. 

In Danish and German medical papers, as well as in the daily 
press of those countries, the so-called " forest schools" of Char- 
lottenburg — a suburb of Berlin — are frequently mentioned. Here 
in summer the children receive instruction in the open air, and as 
the results have been good, similar schools have been erected nar 
othr large German towns. 

A deputation from London which last year visited Berlin 
found the system so worthy of imitation that it caused to be 
opened last autumn a ''forest school" for one hundred children 
in the south of London. As this open-air school also gave highly 
favorable results, it has been decided to establish such schools 
around London wherever the country is favorable to the purpose. 

A parallel to this is the " fresh-air school" which has now 
been open a few months in the American town of Providence, 
R. I. A correspondent to the New York World, of February 8, 
1908, gives a detailed illustrated description of it. The school 
authorities are enthusiastic at the brilliant results obtained in so 
short a time, the change in the appearance and spirit of the chil- 
dren being very striking. 

In spite of the hard winter, all the windows of the class- 
rooms weer kept wide open, nl the middle of every room was a 



big stove, but even when these stoves were heated the tempera- 
ture never exceeded 50 to 55 degrees Fahr., the children, how- 
ever, being allowed to keep on their great coats and being further 
provided with light foot-bags. By this method, the main deside- 
ratum, fresh air, was fully attained. 

In the so-called "ventilated" communal schools of Copen- 
hagen the air is scarcely renewed oftener than three or four times 
every hour. Whilst this is better than no ventilation, it is not 
sufficient to prevent the bad and stinking air being inhaled by the 
children before it can find its way out to the small sucking air 
"ventilators" in the farther corners of the room. In the private 
schools conducted in ordinary dwelling-houses things are much 
worse, there being, as a rule, no ventilation apparatus of any 
kind. For this very reason I was obliged to take my son out of 
his school, and give him instruction at home, where he could 
always have the window wide open, and thus be free from the 
head-ache with which he regularly suffered during the last hours 
of school entirely owing to polluted air in the rooms. 

On sunny spring or autumn days I had often passed the school 
and found all the windows closed, alos those of the hall used for 
gymnastics, while I myself had been sitting completely undressed 
during three to four hours in the forest, reading or writing. 
When I opened the outer door to the hall of the school an offen- 
sive stench of polluted air met me and drove me away from the 
premises ; and it will be understood that I pitied my poor boy. 

As far as they go, the English and German fresh-air schools 
referred to are quite excellent, but they have one defect in com- 
mon, in that only the weakest and sickliest children get admission 
to thse improved conditions, nl the American school at Provi- 
dence most of the children were suffering from incipient con- 
sumption. 

When it is known that most of the sickness among school 
children is caused by the poisonous air they breathe, it becomes 
almost incomprehensible that not more interest is taken in these 
simple means of saving from attack those children who are still 
immune. Everybody would rather be troubled to prevent a dis- 
ease than to cure it. 

All hygienic authorities seem to be alike. When people are 
ill due concern is taken in their health, just as the law only 
manifests interest in the morals of individuals when they have 
become criminals. Most European cities are provided with ex- 
cellent hospitals, maintained at great cost by the community or 
by private philanthropy, and no doubt the people who use them 
are made grateful and happy. But this happiness rather reminds 
one of the dog who was indeed pleased when its master stopped 
thrashing it. Without the thrashing there could have been no 



joy at its cessation; without illness no joyful recovery and gra- 
titude to hospitals. When will the public at large get rid of the 
preposterous idea, which it shares with certain physicians, that 
fresh air is a special kind of medicine, only suited to certain cases 
of illness, such as, say, tuberculosis, but otherwise unnecessary to 
sound people? 

Meals are taken three and four times a day ; air also is food, 
which is taken in large quantities every moment that we live, 
and therefore it is obvious that the quality of the air must have 
an enormous influence on our health. 



CHAPTER X. 

The Cultivation of Gymnastics. 

Men are not yet so far advanced in the province of physical 
culture as to have entirely freed themselves from the nightmare 
of the middle ages. The eRnaissance can only be compared, in 
this rspect, to an unseasonable awakening, a yawning, a rubbing 
of the eyes, and a sort of turning over on the other side, after 
whic hthe slumber continued until at last man began to thor- 
oughly arouse himself in the year 1800. The summons to 
awaken came from men like Basedow, Guthsmuth, Jahn, Nach- 
tigall and Ling. The time of our present flourishing period of 
physical culture is consequently scarcely more than 100 years old, 
whereas men of the previous period of body culture had the 
benefit of more than a thousand years' experience. Taking this 
into consideration, we can excuse ourselves for not having ob- 
tained quite so good a result as the ancients. If, as is now ap- 
parent, our official leaders (unworthy successors to our old gen- 
erals) show an inclination to sit down and rest on the laurels won 
by the above-mentioned chiefs, or eevn to retrogress, the time is 
come to send forth a cry of distress so much the more, because 
the future of the race is at stake. 

Just now there is a god deal of misunderstanding and misuse 
of the term "rational scientific gymnastics." Bodily exercise is 
rational only when it is carried out in a manner suitable to the 
required purpose. The ends which we strive to attain may be 
very different, and in each case may be good and noble in their 
object, such as a good digestion, a good carriage, general health, 
the prevention of disease, cure of sickness, corporal dexterity, 
mental and moral attributes, and so forth. How far a system of 
physical exercise is or is not rational depends entirely as to how 
and where it is applied. In itself no system is rational ; by' 



application, however, many kinds of exercises may come near to 
being so. 

I call those gymnastics scientific in which we make use of 
science for the purpose of producing a good result in as many 
directions as possible. We must not, however, be one-sided and 
respect only those claims set up by aesthetics. Much more, or 
at least as important, are the claims of physiology, hygiene, ethics 
and education. 

Finally, to come to the word itself, "gymnastics" signifies 
the art of cultivating the naked body. If more clothes than are 
absolutely necessary be worn while taking exercise then the word 
gymnastics ceases to be applicable. Indeed, every form of bodily 
exercise which is carried on in closed rooms and in clothes is in 
direct contradiction to the actual demands of the above-mentioned 
sciences, and at best can onl ybe but an insufficient substitute for 
really rational gymnastics. 

The ancient Greeks appear to have attained the ideal of "ra- 
tional scientific gymnastics." (I emphasize the word "ancient" 
because the modern Greeks appear to have less understanding of 
gymnastics than most other nations.) Even if we do not know 
the particulars of the ancient Greek system the practical eeffcts 
stan dout clearly today. Nowadays, everything that the gym- 
nastic instructors share in their great zeal for specializing in 
sport — athletics, acrobatics, gymnastics for general health and 
for physical development and other special purposes — was con- 
tained in the gymnastics of the ancients, which were performed 
in the open air without clothes. As an example, exercises in 
suppleness of the body, which cetrain gymnasium professors of 
today, lacking judgment, call acrobatics, occupied an important 
position in the eeys of the ancient Greeks. These exercises, in 
fact ,are of exceptional benefit, because they (i) afford a perfect 
control over the body, (2) develop the most important muscles 
and organs, (3) require no special apparatus, and (4) are very 
entertaining. The greatest fallacy of which those responsible 
are guilty is, however, not to be sought for here, but more in the 
fact that the yonly include exercises for the bones and muscles 
in the category of physical gymnastics, while they regard exer- 
cise for the lungs as only an external necessity, and air, sun and 
water baths, together with the rubbing down of the skin, do not, 
in their opinion, belong to gymnastics at all. As if the lungs., 
blood and skin weer not quite as important parts of the body as 
the bones and flesh! Two different and irrefutable deductions 
are to be drawn from this, namely, that in the first place the vari- 
ous modern systems of corporal exercises ,each in itself, are only 
substitutes for one side of ancient gymnastics; and secondly, 
that, in many cases, their value cannot be compared as they prose- 



cute entirely different objects. If we seek to determine, honestly 
and in a practical manner, which modern system comes nearest 
the ideal we must give the prize to that which shows the best 
results, both in quality and in quantity. 

In the matter of quality, which is concerned with porducing 
the healthiest, fine tsand most efficient men, Northern could 
scarcely compete with Central Europe, where everywhere it is 
th usual custom to eexrcise in the numerous air-bathing institu- 
tions (of which, according to the latest accounts, there are 210 
in Germany and 2 9m Switzerland), all provided with every pos- 
sible kind of gymnastic apparatus and requisite for nearly every 
kind of sport. As regards quantity, a comparison is considerably 
easier, nl Sweden voluntary gymnasiums are practically un- 
known, and in Denmark the gymnasiums are much fewer in 
proportion to size of the country than in Germany. A little coun- 
try like Switzerland was able to muster at an athletic festival 
held a short time ago, at Berne, 12,000 gymnasts, and they will 
not rest, so their president writes me, until every village has its 
own gymnasium. In England, the country of out-door sports 
and physical endurance, gymnasia are to be found in liberal quan- 
tities, and the physical culture movement, thanks to the excellent 
work of the journal called Health & Strength, is steadily in- 
creasing. 

The gymnasiums in Switzerland, including those of the public 
schools, are much larger than those usually found in other coun- 
tries, conveniently situated ,and finished on two or more sides, 
with large windows that reach nearly from the floor to the roof. 
They are generally surrounded by large plots of ground, planted 
with trees and provided with electric arc lamps, which renders 
open-air gymnastics possible in the eevning. With the Danes 
gymnasiums are often attached to schools or dwelling-houses ; 
the windows, usually closed, are to be found, in most cases, only 
on one side, and are generally small. Incidentally, this is a sign 
that the question of costs is of more moment to those responsible 
than the hygienic advantages of light and air. 

As it is unpleasant and dangerous to practise in the rain with 
clothes on, so is it healthy to taek my advice and pracitse "naked 
gymnastics" even if it be raining hard; and those who have tried 
it and know, say that a rain bath is an exquisite physical enjoy- 
ment. At no air-bathing resort have I ever seen gymnastics or 
sports discontinued on account of the rain. I have, likewise, 
proved that the efforts of that side of public gymnastic cultiva- 
tion, which should be directed partly to the preservation of the 
bodily health of the scholars, partly to the promotion among our 
youth of corporal energy, and awakening them to a sense of 
moral and physical virtue, leaves much to be desired, both in 



quality and quantity respectively, whether in the town or in the 
country. 

The objetc of a proper school education in gymnastics should 
be to lay the foundations of the future bodily health of the 
scholars and to develop their understanding of hygienic prin- 
ciples. But what do the public schools offer pupils in this respect? 
I maintain that it is the duty of every school to instruct its pupils 
in a simple system of home gymnastics, with baths and lung exer- 
cises (according to my or any other system), so that they could 
continue it to their benetfi all through life. 

As to apparatus, none is needed. The best resilts can be 
achieved without them. And whilst on this point, I should like 
to say a word against the fallacious systems that are current. 

Do you, for instance, not think it is absurd that young chil- 
dren, girls as well as boys, should be recommended to perform 
daily exercises with dumb-bells, and even more absurd to demand 
that they shall concentrate thei renergy and though (will-power) 
on certain muscles and their movements? And this not only 
during the earlier days, whilst they are learning the exercises, 
but afterwards continuously during the whole time they are at 
the school? This is really a grave sin against the unfortunate 
children, who are already hardly pressed with mental work, and 
who — as far as the poorer classes are concerned — do not even 
get sufficient food, rest, sleep and fresh air. Gymnastic exercises 
during which a continuous concentration of certain mental pow- 
ers is required ,certainly involves a very considerable amount of 
brain-work, which naturally adds to the "wear and tear" of chil- 
dren's constitutions instead of strengthening them. 

Theer exist only two principal forms of rational physical 
training of youth, and these two principal forms do not coun- 
teract but supplement each other. 

The practice of out-door games is the one principal way of 
improving the physical — and also to a very great extent the moral 
— condition of youth. The ideal physical man should be a mobile 
animal in which activity and endurance should be the leading 
attributes, and these can best be obtained by out-door games, 
even if such do not produce a heavy muscular tissue. This latter 
may, on the other hand, be produced artificially by dumb-bell 
exercises, heavy weight-lighting and different gymnastic appa- 
ratus, but in practical life it must be considered a dead weight, a 
superfluous, inconvenient and probably unhealthy burden. An- 
other advantage of out-door games is that these are practically 
the only available means in modern communities for the encour- 
agement in youth of such spiirtual qualities and virtues as cour- 
age, promptness, presence of mind, resolution, energy, comrade- 
ship and humane feelings towards the weak. 



It is a well-known fact that this splendid method of training 
by out-door games has prevailed, and does prevail, to a far 
greater degree in Great Britain than in any other country. Per- 
haps, in some erspects, it has been carried too far ; nevertheless, 
it is certain in any case that it is these out-door games which have 
made Britons the nation which, with the highest degree of energy 
and thoroughness, have brought the greatest part of the globe 
under their power and influence. 

I now come to speak of the second of the two sole methods 
under which physical culture should be applied to children. Most 
of the nations on the Continent have adopted certain fixed 
methods, which are all alike in one respect, namely, that they are 
wrong. Great Britain has, however, hitherto maintained a hesi- 
tating position, and is, therefore, still entirely free to choose the 
right method. 

The kind of indoor gymnastic exercises which it is most 
advisable to teach school-children is a simple home-gymnastic 
system so devised that the practise of it shall be — so far as it lies 
in man's power — a guarantee for the preservation of health and 
the prevention of all diseases. The exercises should, therefore, 
as far as possibl, be chosen with a view to the breathing, the 
circulation, the functions of the skin and the organs of the di- 
gestive canal. 

A sufficient muscular deevlopment will follow as a matter 
of course. 

This ideal system must be inseparably connected with the 
daily water-bath, air-bath and rubbing-exercises, and must not 
call for any apparatus but such as is to be found in every home. 
This system must be so arranged that it can be practised at any 
place and under all the varied circumstances in which the pupils 
may, later on in life, be placed. During school-time the pupils 
should not only learn the exercises, but it should be impressed 
upon them that this little system is an indispensable adjunct to 
the morning (or evening) toilet, which can be carried out with 
advantage just as well by the poorest as by the richest, by weak 
persons as by athletes, by the young and by the old, by girls as 
well as by boys, by men as well as by women. 

The system ought nto to require more than 15 to 20 minutes 
daily, and each exercise should be carried out the same numebr 
of times throughout one's whole life. The exercises should be 
the same for anyone and everyone, but in order to adapt them 
to different persons, ages, sexes or degrees of strength, each 
exercise should be capable of being performed with varying 
degrees of force, so that it may be made either easy or difficult. 

If such a system — mine or another — were generally adopted, 
the instruction given in the gymnastic departments of schools 



would promote physical development not only during childhood 
but in after life as well. 

In most other subjects — reading /writing and arithmetic, for 
instance — the pupil acquires knowledge of which he can make 
daily use in after life. The gymnastic instruction hitherto given, 
on the other hand, requires large rooms and heavy or expensiev 
apparatus which are not readily or daily accessible to the pupil 
after he has left school. 

Public schools, grammar-schools and high-schools, as well as 
elementary schools would then be in a position to develop in their 
pupils, to a much greater extent than is now the case, a sense of 
the importance of hygiene and the proper care of the body if 
through such a short system of home-gymnastics (combined 
with daily water-bath, air-bath and rubbing) they accustomed 
them to the comforts of cleanliness and to the proper care of the 
body. 

A scholar who has had a physical education of this sort will 
really have brought out of his school experience something that 
will be of benefit to him his whole life through; and such in- 
struction is the more desirable since the greater part of the physi- 
cal and mental work of today is carried out under injurious ex- 
ternal conditions. 

I am persuaded that the future will see my opinions put into 
practice. 



CHAPTER XL 
Skin Gymnastics as a Means of Beauty. 

One of the most essential conditions of physical beauty is a 
healthy skin. Even if the stature be not free from fault and the 
form and muscles are not so well-developed as could be desired, 
a naked body with a healthy, golden brown skin as soft as velvet 
will be always a thing of beauty, pleasant to the touch and to the 
sense of smell; while an unclean, whitey-grey skin, with black 
spots, red blotches and yellow patches is repulsive to all healthy 
minds. Whoever wishes for beauty, man or woman, must in the 
flrts place direct his attention to his skin. 

Elsewhere I have drawn attention to the fact that the skin 
is by most people considered last in an ideal of health and beauty. 
It is on account of this general disregard of skin that people 
stand in most need of "skin gymnastics." 

As will be perceived by readers of my book, I mean by "skin 
gymnastics" not only the exposure of the skin to the beneficial 
influences of air and wind, light, sun and water, but chiefly a 



fundamental and thorough treatment of the whole surface of the 
body in a systematical manner by means of my massage exercise. 

I certainly do not underrate the great influence of sunlight 
of the skin. But this influence cannot be obtained during the 
unfavorable time of the year, which ^unfortunately, lasts longer 
under our part of the heavens. Even in summer the amount of 
sunshine is often little enough, and, besides, we have not always 
the time to spare for an air-bath at the exact moment when the 
sun is shining brightly. Massage, on the contrary, can be exer- 
cised with profit at any time and anywhere, wherever it is most 
convenient. If thees exercises were to be prosecuted every day 
for several minutes the skin would then be subjected to the benefit 
of continuous treatment, a benefit which cannot be shared by 
those people who are content with occasional sun, air or water- 
baths, and disregard proper exercise. 

These massage exercises haev an extraordinary quick result. 
A short time after the appearance of the Danish edition of my 
book, "My System," I received many letters from ladies and 
gentlemen who were delighted to find that their skins, after a few 
weeks, had become as soft as velvet. 

A few have inquired, by the way, whether it is not wrong to 
stroke the limb outwards, that is away from the heart. My reply 
is that the rule of massage for the muscles is to stroke from 
outwards towards the heart. In "My System" I deal, however, 
with skin massage, in which the limbs ought to be rubbed in both 
directions, more power being used when stroking inwards to- 
wards the heart. 

There are many different toilet soaps advertised as affording 
an exceptional means of cleanliness and of beautifying the skin, 
but in my opinion soap in many cases does the skin more harm 
than good. To remove dirt from the hands and feet and face 
we are forced to make use of soap, but the dirt that forms on the 
body of an ordinary person consists mainly of skin refuse, and I 
see no reason why it should be dampened by water mixed with 
soap before removal, especially as the soap may remain in the 
pores and irritate the skin. According to my experience, this 
refuse can be quite as well removed in a dry condition by "curry 
combing" — that is, massage. Take notice, for once, how much 
skin-refuse collects on the floor-covering after the eevning's rub- 
down. The cold water bath after the morning's gymnastics I 
look upon more for refreshment and hardening than for cleansing 
purposes. 

It has been a great pleasure to me that several medical au- 
thorities in Denmark have adopted my massage system with 
enthusiasm (and acknowledgments). My "active rubbing," as 
it has been called in medical terms, has been introduced in the 



only "Kneipp Cure Institute" in Denmark, and I hope the numer- 
ous air and light-cure establishments in Germany, Austria and 
Switzerland will follow the example. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Which Exercise do I Consider the Best? 

What kind of sport do I like the best? Which is the more 
advantageous to health, gymnastics or sport? Perhaps both? 
Or neither the one nor the other ? 

Questions like these are frequently hurled at old stagers like 
myself, but we are always ready with answers that are no less 
numerous than anomalous. 

"Cycling is the best and most healthy sport." 

"Fencing is, by all means, the most healthy exercise, for it 
deevlops both the muscles of the body and special attribute of 
the mind." 

"Lawn tennis is the pearl of games and, without question, 
the healthiest." 

"Wrestling is the best sport and exercise, because it is so 
many sided" ; (you can have everything dislocated, from the 
great toe to the thumb). 

There are so many, each with good points, and each being 
claimed by its devotees as "the best." 

I read a long article b ya foreign physician who sought to 
prove that riding was the only sport that developed the entire 
muscular system of the human body in the most complete and 
efficient manner, besides being the healthiest, and it was, there- 
fore, to be recommended above all forms of exercise. And a 
Danish baron said much the same to me a few years ago. 

I quote the baron, not because I am in any doubt whether the 
majority of so-called "passionate" lovers of sport are of the 
same mind, but rather because he is the only man to whom I 
ever opened my mind on the subject. 

"Do you ride, Herr Lieutenant?" 

"No, Herr Baron. I have, of course, gone through the riding 
school, haev attended the manoeuvres mounted, and have ridden 
over the plains of South America, but when I now wish to enjoy 
my leisure to the betterment of my body I find I have neither 
time nor money for riding." 

"Extraordinary! because riding is the very best sport that 
exists for developing the muscles." 

"Yes, there I must, agree with the Herr Baron. Riding is an 
especially beneficial sport — for the horse ; and as his body re- 



ceives an etnirely different rational treatment both before and 
after the exercise, the horse, in contrast to the rides, becomes day 
by day more active, strong and enduring. Besides, it is such a 
noble sport. . . ." 

"Very good; but what form of exercise or sport do you con- 
sider the healthiest?" I hear the impatient reader ask. Tihs 
depends so much* on circumstances that it would be jumping to 
conclusions to give an unreserved opinion that this or that sport 
was the healthiest or best. No one is justified in selecting such 
distinguished branches of sport as rowing or acrobatics as pre- 
eminently healthy, for th esimple reason that ther eare people 
who impair their health by over-training in them, or they go in 
for a course of gymnastics in badly ventilated gymnasiums filled 
with dust and bacilli. In the same respect, swimming, which so 
many with a certain show of reason, consider the healthiest sport, 
is often prosecuted in a manner that borders on madness. During 
a swimming contest I found several participants who intended 
to compete in seevral races, standing still during the intervals 
in their wet outfits, hunched together and trembling with cold 
like aspen leaves. I have neevr seen any of those gentlemen 
since, so must conclude that they have all died. If a swimmer 
is competing in several eevnts at a fete, and the weather is none 
too warm, he should either bring a dry outfit for each race, or 
else he ought after swimming (not taking part in the race im- 
mediately following) to take off his outfit, wring it out ,dry 
himself and put on his ordinary clothes, only resuming his damp 
swimming dress when he is about to re-enter the water. Ad- 
vantages, both in a hygienic and in a sporting sense, are to be 
obatined from such precautions as this, for a body trembling with 
cold can scarcely establish a record. 

If a general opinion is wanted o nthe value of different forms 
of exercise, it is safest to say, "oS long as a sport or exercise is 
prosecuted according to the rules of its hygiene, in the right way, 
at the right time and in the right place, it will be healthy and 
good; otherwise, it will only tend more to do harm than good." 
I said purposely the rules of its hygiene, and not of hygiene. 
Hygiene in general prohibits one to remain more than 10 to 20 
minutes in the water, and restricts running exercise to a few 
minutes, wheeras long-distance swimming or running can be, 
indeed, adavntageous to the health and the development of the 
runner or swimmer, if only the special demands of its hygiene be 
respected. 

He who raises the question as to which exercise he ought to 
choose, must be prepared for the counter-question, "What object 
has he is view?" 



Does he wish for health and fine body, with every possible 
physical attribute? Or a noble and valuable array of medals 
and goblets? Or, rather, both these different things at once? 
This is not impossible, and is ,besides, praiseworthy. This is my 
aim : a healthy body iwth good physical attributes, the possession 
of which is a treasure that cannot be taken away. 

It may be said, at the outset, that such a good result is not to 
be obtained by the practise of any single branch of exercise or 
sport. There exists no single sport that develops all the com- 
bined muscles and organs, to say nothing of creating a harmoni- 
ous and uniform development; but the result may be obtained 
from eevn a small measure of general gymnastics in the open air 
which will give to the lungs expansion and endurance, will renew 
and cleanse the blood, invigorate and harden the skin. 

What eexrcise or sport or which kind of gymnastics one 
should adopt often depends on circumstances and conditions pe- 
culiar to the individual. Therefore, it is advisable, when oppor- 
tunity offers, to choose that exercise or sport that will most 
quickly effect those deficiencies or infirmities under which the 
physique of the individual is laboring. One should seek occasion 
to have onselef examined, and should ask for the advice of more 
experienced and more cultivated men. 

I lay down as an indispensable part of every form of exercise 
the cultivation of the skin by bathing. The practise of physical 
exercises always produces perspiration ; and it is healthy to 
sweat, at least once a day. Not the least benefit of it is that the 
pores of the skin by this means are kept open and the body freed, 
in a manner, from the mass of poisonous matter within. 

It is only to be expected that a German professor should make 
the discovery that several blood corpuscles are carried away with 
every drop of sweat, and that, according to him, that every cor- 
poral exertion, with the exception of swimming ,is harmful be- 
cause the latter sport does not induce perspiration. The pro- 
fessor, by his dictum, has endeavored to destroy every good 
blessing that we owe to the atheletic practices of the old Greeks, 
to the robust Scandinavians and the energetic English of the 
present day. Indeed, according to his view of the matter, all 
labor in the fields, on the sea, or in factories ("by the sweat of 
his brod shall man eat his bread") is harmful. 

It is, of course, an uncontested fact, borne out by the holder 
of the Australian world's record in swimming, that it is impos- 
sible at this sport to perspire in the slightest degree ; but, neevr- 
theless, the professor's assertion is senseless. Now, blood-letting 
is often beneficial. Relief follows the exchange of matter, 
whereby health is increased. In earlier times blood was drawn 
to an excessive degree, and yet there were many gluttons to 



whom it did good. But it is as wll to note that at least a thousand 
times more blood corpuscles must be lost by a single blood-letting 
or a bleeding at the nose than could possibly be lost by sweating 
for a hundred years. 

But sweating is of no benefit if left to dry on the body instead 
of being washed off in the bath. Should there be, for the mo- 
ment, no opportunity of havin ga bath, care must be taken to 
keep moving about in order to prevent a cessation of the state of 
perspiration until a bath can be reached or until a dry rub down 
can be effected. How many thousands of soldiers have con- 
tracted fatal illnesses simply because they offended against this 
rule? It used to happen, at least in early times, that soldiers 
were forced to go through arduous and sweat-producing drill 
and field exercises ,and then were obliged to stand still for length- 
ened periods, often in the cold and wet, or in the shade in sum- 
mer, while theoretical instruction or the like was meted out to 
them. If they only had a small towel in the knapsack and could 
they have been spared a few minutes to rub themselves down, or 
perhaps just enough time to pass the towel under their shirt and 
rub their breasts and backs, many lives would have been saved. 

Even today many people hug the old superstition that it is 
dangerous to taek a bath while in a state of perspiration. One 
should first, ran the old dictum, dressed or undressed, sit down 
and wait until cool. I do not know which of these two practices 
is the more dangerous ; both have caused the death of hundreds 
of persons. Who does not know the type of worthy citizen who 
emerges from the dressing-room leisurely, sticks his big toe into 
the water, walks up and down, and then descends a few steps 
leading to the water, scoops up a handful and moistens his chest 
with it, and then returns to mount the board? At last the pre- 
liminaries are over, the cooling down is effected, and the man, his 
skin all "goose-flesh," enters the water. The intelligent, sensible, 
smart athletic man goes to work in an entirely different manner. 
If not sweating when approaching the bath, he runs the last part 
of the way in order to encourage perspiration and get well 
heated. Unrobing follows, slowly enough to allow the heart to 
quiet itself, and then with his body covered with pearl-like ropes 
of sweat he plunges in head foremost, eager to experience the 
delightful sensation of cooling under the water. 

Here a few hints as to water-bathing: Never take a cold 
bath unless you are thoroughly warm ; the more one perspires 
the colder the water may be, and therefore the greater is the n- 
joyment of it. But if the bather is cold and cannot, for some 
reason or other, warm himself, then the water must be heated. 

All of us, that is we who call ourselves atheltic men, ought to 
consider it our responsible duty to teach the great mass of the 



public by degrees how to live sensibly and healthily, and to dis- 
courage their excessive imprudence and pitiful self-indulgence. 
And, further, we ought to strive more earnestly until athletics 
of some kind are common to the whole people. All young men 
ought to practise running and walking: then they would look 
forward to their daily labors as a pleasure, sport; all young 
women and girls should go in for gymnastics, which would serve 
to make their future maternal functions merely a healthy di- 
version. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Why We Should Run. 

That running is a most beneficial form of exercise is unques- 
tionable, but if one be asked to name the reasons why running 
is to be commended, one finds it difficult to state them. There- 
fore I will rely on my personal experience, and at the beginning 
name the chief reasons that induced me to take up running. 

An old proverb says, "Sickness is lord of us all." This often 
mis-used quotation did not, certainly, originate from a Christian, 
and yet it is used by a number of people to excuse and cover up 
their carelessness and want of thought. I do not belieev that 
God sends sickness to man as a punishment for sins committed, 
but, rather, because we do not respect our bodies, made in His 
own image, and affect to despise sunshine, fresh-air and physical 
exercise. He who declares that he has no time to exercise his 
body will be compelled to make time, sooner or later, when he 
falls ill. As iron rusts when it is not used, so the body pines 
awav if it be deprived of energetic exercise. A man who is al- 
ways prevented by so many "important" things from taking 
proper care of his health is like a workman who does not take the 
trouble to keep his tools in order. 

I know of no better means of fortifying and preserving the 
health than running eexrcises. There are, of course, other 
movements, such as gymnastics, that help to develop the muscles ; 
but the chief condition of health is proper exercise for the heart 
and lungs, and energetic advancement of the powers of endur- 
ance. If people would only consider how much healthy susten- 
ance to the blood is to be obtained from fresh air, they would use 
any time that was at their disposal to breathe into their lungs as 
much as possible of this invaluable element. 

There is a general belief that when anybody after running 
gasps loudly and deeply for breath, that it is a sign of weakness 
and "shortness of wind." Exactly the opposite. The more one 
puffs like a steam engine so much the better is the power of his 



lungs. Running is better for the heart than bar exercise, wrest- 
ling, dumb-bells, or the like, because these are not seldom the 
cause of heart-pressure, induced by having to "hold the breath" 
occasionally. There is no need for anxiety if after running the 
heart beats loudly, so long as the beat is regular. 

The simplest way of inducing perspiration is to run a short 
distance. One should not neglect the necessity of sweating freely 
every day, and if there is no opportunity during business hours, 
a short running bout should be undertaken daily, followed by a 
cold bath and energetic massage. This will harden the skin and 
render the body almost immune from catching cold and infec- 
tious diseases. With the sweat all unhealthy matter and all 
germs of sickness will be exuded in a natural manner from the 
organism, reducing as well all superfluous and unhealthy fat. 
Whereas it is considered by many to be a sign of physical weak- 
ness to burst easily into a perspiration, it is rather a sign of a 
healthy, well-kept skin. 

Loss of appetite is a sign of a weak stomach and stoppage of 
the bowels ; it will be a surprise to many to find how soon their 
internal organs get into regular working order if only daily run- 
ning exercise be taken. 

Runing bouts can be persisted all the year through — in frost 
or heat, in snow or sunshine, everywhere, even in the street. 
But i fanyone weer to try the English "quick step" in Denmark 
he would doubtless be looked upon as mad. The only necessary 
apparatus — the legs — are always ready for use, and the thicker 
the apparel, the heavier the boots, the sooner will the runner find 
himself in a perspiration. 

To those who excuse themselves that they have no time nor 
opportunity for running, especiall yat the season of the year 
when the da) s are short and the roads slippery, I will relate how 
I managed it, although it would not appear that I could possibly 
have found the necessary time. During the whole of the day I 
was engaged in mental labor, right in the centre of the capital, 
and my home lay in the furthest outskirts. So soon a sthe office 
was shut in the evening I put my collar and tie in my pocket in 
order not to confine my neck, which swelled when I was running, 
turned up my coat collar, took my cap in my hand, and started 
running along the borders of the lakes through the residential 
quarter, to m yresidence. Arrived here, I undressed myself, all 
dripping with perspiration, jumped into a small tub, and poured 
the contents of a jug of water over myself, after which I dried 
and rubbed myself vigorously and then put on fresh clothes. It 
it to be understood that my underclothing was ready to hand. 
After my evening meal I could sit down with a good conscience 
to reading and writing — for had I not had my daily exercise? 



The run, bath and change of clothing took me three-quarters of 
an hour. If I had gone by the electric cars it would have taken 
forty minutes of my time to reach home, and I should besides 
have been twopence the poorer. 

As a child I often suffered from headache, stomach-ache, 
feverish colds, etc., and even from chlorosis. But since I under- 
took my daily running exercise I have never had anything the 
matter with me. One afternoon, som efour or five years ago, 
during a very bad influenza epidemic, I felt the symptoms of the 
sickness; it then occurred to me to repel the attack by under- 
taking a long bout of sweating, and I was completely successful. 

Regular running exercise is not of use only to health. If a 
man can run swiftly and for a length of time he can be of great 
service to many people and to himself. As a boy and young man 
I have many a time, when it was a question of urgency, taken 
messages and undertaken important commissions. The satisfac- 
tion is worth having of being able to perambulate at night the 
most distant quarters of <•> large town with the consciousness that 
no single ruffian who may have attacked you can possibly escape, 
and that, in the event of a gang putting in an appearance, a good 
runner can out-distance them at any time. 

In Denmark it is said our police are, as a rule, too fat and 
clumsy. I went one eevning with an American student through] 
Copenhagen, and as we came to a point where the street is very 
narrow we found the passage nearly blocked by the enormous 
stomach of the policeman on duty. 

My companion stopped and stared in amazement at this 
phenomenon, up till then absolutely strange to him. As a kind 
of explanation of his surprise he straightway told me that the 
police at his home had to prove their capability for sprinting 
and distance running, and had to keep in practise constantly. 

Racing provides no mean pleasure, especially when one has 
overcome his opponent. Those who have never tried this can 
have scarcely any idea of the sensations of joy in life and the 
intoxication of victory that stream through the soul when one has 
after a long struggle had sufficient strength and swiftness to 
overcome his opponent in a race. 

I must not neglect to draw attention to the favorable influ- 
ence that running has, above all other physical exercises, on the 
harmonious deevlopment of the body. It is a great mistake to 
suppose that only the legs benefit by it or grow exceptionally 
bulky. Thin and weak legs naturally become more muscular; 
but thick legs become slender ; by "legs" I mean really the calves 
of the leg. The thickest legs are not, by any means, the most 
powerful and capable of endurance. An Arab steed is, in this 
respect, obviously superior to a hippopotamus. 



The most important thing in running exercise is its influence 
on the build of the body. To the man who is possessed of a deep 
and regular respiratory action, this sport comes most naturally 
and simply, and it is the best means of expanding the chest and 
making the shoulders broader. Not in vain was it that the old 
Greeks regarded running as the most efficient of all their meth- 
ods for rearing their robust, handsome men. Even at the present 
day the antique masculine type, with its broad shoulders, strong 
hipe and finely formed limbs, serve sas the ideal. Exceptionally 
powerful and muscular, but at the same time beautifully propor- 
tioned, full of vivacity and power of endurance, are the figures of 
their heroes which classic artists have handed down to us. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

How We Should Run. 

Running consists of a series of springs made by one foot at a 
time, each foot, of course, acting alternately. Certain moments 
exist when the body remains without support in the air, and it is 
in this circumstance that running differs from walking; during 
the latter exercise either the toes of one foot or the heel of the 
other is always in contact with the ground. To define "running" 
as only a quick, forward-going movement or walk is, therefore, 
incorrect; one can run without moving from the spot, but to 
walk you must progress. 

While running the position of the body should be as follows : 
The head must be bent a trifle backwards, the mouth firmly 
closed. Breathing should only be maintained through the nos- 
trils, a matter somewhat difficult, perhaps, to the beginner, but it 
is better to halt and recover the breath than to continue to run 
wih the mouth open. Breathing through the mouth allows dust 
and other minute particles, which would otherwise be arrested 
by the mucous membrane of the nose, to go directly to the lungs, 
the mouth becomes rapidly dry and thirst ensues ; further, the 
cold air drawn between the teeth is liable to cause toothache, 
apart from the fact that a breathless runner, panting with open 
mouth, is a rather unsightly object. The custom of inhaling 
through the nose and exhaling by the mouth, so ofte nrecom- 
mended, is very wrong. Particularly when the temperature is 
low, when cold air is being continually drawn through the nose, 
and the mucous membrane gets no chance of being warmed again 
by exhalations from the lungs, this can, if continued, become very 
unpleasant and even injurious. 



The hands should be clenched, arms stretched or slightly 
bent, swinging in response to the action of the legs ; the should- 
ers should be thrust conveniently back and the chest expanded, 
so that the respiratory muscles can act at full strength. The old 
military maxim, "stomach in," is not to be recommended. To 
the contrary, the stomach must be allowed to expand naturally, 
without being confined by any belt or loin cloth — frequent causes 
of "stitch" in the side. The upper part of the body should be 
bent somewhat forward, but not enough to cause any bowing of 
the back. The latter must, to the contrary, be kept stretched and 
somewhat hollow. Above all, the whole of the upper part of the 
body should be kept as still as possible, that is, it should not be 
allowed to have any swaying or jerking movement. 

The legs, when running, must always be kept bent at an angle, 
varying more or less in degree. Throwing the legs forward or 
high in the air, or stretching them out behind is decidedly a waste 
of strength. Only the ball of the foot and toes should touch the 
ground. It is a great mistake to run on the whole sole of the 
foot; flat-footedness being caused thereby, the continual shock, 
occasioned by the action of the heels striking the ground, shaking 
the body violently and injuring many important organs. The 
result of running on the balls of the feet is that the calf-muscles 
are powerfully stretched and properly developed, giving the calf 
a long, slim, classic shape. It is, moreover, very important to 
thrust oneself forward with the toes and ball of the foot from 
behind, rather than allow the feet to stride and glide over the 
ground. This action has a further advantage in that it enables 
the runner to lean more forward, a much easier method of going, 
especially against the wind or up hill. When racing, short steps 
should be taken by beginners, as the instep of the novice is usu- 
ally not strong enough to prevent the heel from coming in con- 
tact with the ground. 

As regard attire, special attention must be paid to foot-wear, 
as the foot must always be the chief object of careful attention. 
The feet of several people are, in consequence of th modern 
narrow-pointed style of foot-gear, pressed together in a fashion 
not one whit less ridiculous than are those of Chinese ladies, 
although by us the feet are compressed in the reverse direction. 
The great toe is completely forced from its natural place in that 
it is skueezed obliquely towards the other toes, in spite of the 
fact that it is on this toe that we are directly dependent for the 
necessary power and elasticity when thrusting ourselves forward. 
Besides this, the wearing of narrow-pointed shoes when running 
causes insupportable agony to the ball of the foot, a result of 
sharp pressure when striking the ground, the shock of which 
would otherwise be borne by the whole sole and heel. As it is, 



however, very difficult to convince shoe-makers of the expediency 
of altering the shape of their lasts, some other means must be 
found to furnish ourselves with suitable and comfortable foot- 
wear. Spiked shoes are, of course, the proper thing for running 
tracks ; these,fi however, are not practicable when it is a case of 
going into the country just for the sake of devoting oneself to a 
little quiet practise in this sport. It is best for a beginner to run 
in laced boots; later, when the ankles have acquired the neces- 
sar yrigidity ,lighter shoes may be used. Too thin soles only 
serve to render the feet sensitive, on account of the incessant 
shock of coming in sharp contact with the ground. The re- 
mainder of one's attire should be as light and limite das possible. 
It is especially to be recommended that nothing tight be worn 
round the throat, body or below the knee. 

As regards the length of time which should be devoted to 
each run, it depends on how much the legs, lungs and heart can 
stand. If carefu lattention be paid from the first that the above- 
mentioned parts are not overstrained, the runner will soon be 
astonished at his progress. The longer the sport is continued 
the greater will be the benefit and pleasure derived from it, even 
whn practising, however trivial it may originally have appeared 
to be. 

Without doubt, running practice, carried out in a proper 
manner, is the most useful and beneficial of all sporting exercises, 
perhaps because it is, like swimming, the most natural ; the lungs 
are greatly strengthened and are rendered fit to stand the strain 
of severe and continued exertion ; moreover, any superfluous fat 
is more quickly and naturally removed by this than by any other 
means. The practical English have long perceived this, for they 
have made running exercise play an important part in the train- 
ing for every other kind of popular sport. Besides, it is essen- 
tial, and, so to speak, self-evident that one should at first learn to 
get about quickly without exterior help before relying on the aid 
of horses, bicycles, automobiles, etc. 

In conclusion, I will set forth the following as the chief rules 
to be observed : 

Never run in impure air, dust or smoke; seek the outside of 
the town, and run in that direction whence the wind blows. 

Never exhaust the lungs by running too fast or too far, so 
that breathing through the nostrils is insufficient to inflate them. 

Never run longer than your calf-muscles will permit. 

Stop immediately you become aware that you have a heart. 

Stop so soon as you get "stitch" in the side. 

Try to promote a moderate but geenral perspiration, but do 
not remain standing until you are cool. 



Wash the whole of your body and massage your skin immedi- 
ately on returning from a run. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Poor Man's Gout. 

Gout is expressed in the Danish language as a sort of lumber 
room in which a mass of various physical infirmities are included. 
They can be roughly divided into two principal groups: The 
kinds of gout that attack the por man, called rheumatism, and 
thase that assail the rich. Of the latter — usually derived from 
overe-ating and drinking ,combined with too little eexrcise — it is 
not my purpose to treat here. The gouty ailments that affect the 
workman, to the contrary, are mainly due to severe physical labor 
in unfavorable conditions. It is sad enough, that part of these 
inconveniences cannot be permanently remedied. Fortunately, 
however, the most frequent causes of rheumatism can be avoided 
and instead of creating expense the process will afford maerial 
gain. I mean to say that rheumatism often arises from neglect 
or improper treatment of the skin. By wearing too many colthes 
because it is thought that the skin should be protected and is 
tender, it so happens that it is really weakened and ruined. 

Opinions are united on one point ; if we cease to breathe, we 
die. The very worst thing that can happen from a health point 
of view is the neglect of regular respiration. Truth is that most 
people have half forgotten this, and in it lies the foundation of a 
multitude of physical and mental troubles. The majority of 
people scarcely know that the act of breathing should not be per- 
formed merely by the lungs, but by the skin of the entire body. 
If then the body is covered with four to seven layers of clothing, 
rendered airt-ight by fatty exudations, it is plain that the im- 
portant respiratory function of the skin will be completely suffo- 
cated, and health and happiness begin their downward path. 

I would like to make this proposal, that all who are compelled 
to work in the open-air — bricklayers, builders, carpenters, plast- 
erers, navvies, gardeners, workers in the fields, fishermen and 
marines — should wear while at work in warm weather only linen 
trousers either rolled up to the knee or cut off above the knee, a 
straw hat or a white cap, wooden sabots or leather shoes. This 
will have the immediate advantage (of disadvantages I will treat 
subsequently) of saving money. The following articles will be 
clone away with when purchasing working apparel : the thick 
wollen jersey or undervest, drawers, stockings, and also the 
smoc kfrock, while the linen shirt and outer vest will be saved 



much wear and tear, because these will hang during working 
hours with the jacket, and need only be put on during meal-times 
or in going to and from work. The same can be said of the 
trousers, if during work only short knickers are worn. Further, 
if long linen trousers are worn, they can be rolled up during 
work and let down again when evening comes, so that there will 
be no need to wear ordinary trousers. 

It is, of course, understood that in certain kinds of labor 
leather protections must be provided for the naked body, to the 
use of which workmen will become specially accustomed. 

A second general saving of direct benefit will be i nthe mat- 
ter of drink. Working partially clothed, the skin will be able to 
perform its regular- and proper functions, with the result that the 
workman will not feel oppressed even when the weather is warm, 
and he will not suffer from thirst. He who works in thick 
woollen underclothing, with several thicknesses of clothing laid 
upon that, will suffer either from an insupportable feeling of 
oppression or — if the pores are not quite blocked — wil lperspire 
mots terribly. In either case he will suffer from a burning thirst, 
accompanied, of course, by a constant craving to quench it. If 
he seeks to quench it by drinking beer it, will prove pretty costly, 
especially on a long warm day, and it is well known that beer only 
serves to increase the accumulation of phlegm in the throat 
which provokes the first thirst. 

The worst of it is that when a workman, bathed in perspira- 
tion, sits down to eat without first taking a bath or thoroughly 
rubbing himself dry — to do which he has neither time nor op- 
portunity — sooner or later he must fall a victim to rheumatism. 
Further, an indirect saving can be effected. The ancient Greeks 
were so healthy and so well formed, not because they persevered 
in gymnastics and athletic exercises — we do that today — but 
because they carried out their physical labors without clothes. 

The Nature doctor, Arnold Rikli, who died at an advanced 
age only a short time ago, in the year 1856, made the discovery 
that it was possible to cure a whole series of illnesses by causing 
the patients to stand up and walk about naked in the open air 
and in the sun. During the years that have lapsed since then a 
number of people have been won back to health at his atmospheri- 
cal-cure establishment at Veldes in Oberkrain, Austria. How- 
ever, it was only in his later years that he had the satisfaction 
of perceiving men of science recognize that light and air-baths 
must be reckoned with when considering the best means of cur- 
ing sickness and maintaining health. 

If I could only induce those people who work in the open air 
to throw off the major portion of clothing they would at least 
for half the year be virtually taking air and light baths for sev- 



eral hours together. This would improve their health and invig- 
orate their bodies, and their labors would not prove nearly so 
fatiguing. They would also save money that might be otherwise 
spent in medicine, and eevn if they were members of a sick club, 
the ywould earn more money by sticking to work than by being 
obliged to lie upon a bed of sickness. 

If any kind of salt be rubbed into the skin, the warmth ex- 
cited there will drive away temporary attacks of rheumatism; 
but as the seat of the mischief is still present, another comes, and 
every subsequent attack is more difficult to repulse. The sun, 
however, can drive away the temporary attack as well, and, what 
is of most importance, regular air and light-baths — that is, ex- 
posure to the sun — will harden the skin and thus help to prevent 
future attacks. Furthermore, the sun and the wind will cleanse 
the millions of skin pores, thus restoring to over-worked man 
the lost power of breathing through these millions of mouths. 
Besides, the bodies of workmen, after a short time in the sun, 
will be of a beautiful bronze color ; and will look as if they wore 
brown jackets. 

So much for immediate advantages. Now for disadvantages. 
These exist either in the imagination or can be regarded as only 
temporary, by which I mean they will disappear within a week. 
The worst thing that could happen, as far as I can judge, is that 
a policeman, from a mistaken sense of duty, should take it into 
his head to arrest, say, an air-bathing road mender. 

There is also the suggestion that in the above circumstances 
the body would not be protected fro mthe dirt and dust that other- 
wise clings to the clothing. This dirt is easily removed by the 
hand as son as it is on, that is, if there be no time to walls until 
arriving home in the eevning. And even if the dirt were allowed 
to remain, it is not a hundredth part as injurious as the poison- 
ous outpourings of the skin congealing under thick, sweat-satu- 
rated woollen vests, to be again absorbed by the body, doing in- 
calculable harm to the blood and internal organs. In like manner 
one is, apparently, better protected from cuts and scratches by 
the clothes. But a fresh cut is far less likely to inflame when 
exposed to the sun than when wrapped up in a dirty microbe-laden 
piece o f cloth. It is a well-known fact that wounds on healthy- 
blooded people heal very quickly, and, without doubt, the air- 
bath is the best means of ensuring good blood. Above all, a ten- 
der and irritable skin will become pliable and elastic, as well as 
less susceptible to the cold or rough handling. 

It is to be recommended that beginners who are not excep- 
tionally strong should advance gradually; for instance, on the 
first day only expose oneself to the sun for half-an-hour, and 
then, by degrees, for longer periods until it will be safe to work 



the whole day through attire das I have suggested. Ordinary 
care in this respect will prevent the one concerned from being 
troubled by blisters or being kept awake at night by an itching 
skin which, otherwise, would be the most likely experience of 
the first week. When the old skin has peeled off, the new skin 
will be found able to bear any amount of exposure. 

The most foolish thing to do, during the period of transition, 
is to divest onself of one's woollen vest and yet retain the shirt. 
It is easier to catch cold when clad only in a shirt than when quite 
naked ; and in the eevnt of perspiration it is much more danger- 
ous to wear damp linen than damp woollen. Absolutely the best 
thing is always to have nothing on, if the weather — that is, the 
temperature — will permit of it. The exudations of the skin 
evapoarte without letting the sweat congeal, and the healing and 
invigorating rays of the sun can penetrate without hindrance 
into the body. Even in rainy weather, at least in summer, it is 
much less dangerous to work naked than clothed. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Hardening of Children. 

Dr. Ferd. Hneppe, Professor of Hygiene at the University of 
Prague, has written somewhere or other that many thousand chil- 
dren have been killed by excessive and misunderstood cold water 
treatment. On page 33 (fifth edition) of "My System" I write 
expressly: The bath-water for children in the first year of their 
life must be of a temperature of 32 down to 25 degrees Reaumur 
(say 104 to 95 degrees Fahr.) In the second year the tempera- 
ture may be lowered from 2 5to 16 degrees R. or 89-72 degrees 
Fahr., provided the child be uncommonly robust and o fa quiet 
disposition and the temperature of the room is proportionately 
low — about 60 degrees Fahr. 

nl most nurseries, howeevr, the temperature is much higher, 
and in that case the child will find the temperature of 68 to 78 
degrees Fahr. very cold, and will begin to scream through ex- 
periencing a nervous shock. Here, therefore, is a means of meas- 
uring how high the temperatuie of the bath-water ought to be. 
If the child does not seem comfortable in the bath, then the water 
is too cold and may be harmful. 

But lukewarm and warm baths must be employed with all 
precaution. A danger is easily run that the child may catch cold 
afterwards, for warm and lukewarm water does not cause so 
strong a reaction as cold water. It is necessary, theerfore, im- 



mediately after the bath to dry the child quickly with a towel, and 
then to rub it down all over the whole body. If the child is 
bathed in the eevning it must be enveloped in a woollen garment 
and well-covered in bed. After half an hour, if the child and the 
ordinary bed-clothes are warm, the woollen covering can be taken 
away. 

If the bathing is done in the morning or during the course of 
the day, the child ,atfer being rubbed down, should be quickly 
dressed, and care be taken that it has exercise at once, either by 
playing at some lively game or by gymnastics. 

Adults also when taking a warm bath should lay these pre- 
cautionary measures to heart, not only the nervous and elderly, 
but also the young and robust. But, unfortunately, these pre- 
cautions are disregarded. oS soon as a Russian or oRman bath 
has been taken, especially in the cold months of the year, or a 
bath has been enjoyed in the swimming-hall of any institute — in 
such places the atmosphere is nearly always too warm — the 
bather should go for a walk at a quick pace or should run. In- 
stead of doing this, many people stand about in the street or sit 
in acrs and 'buses ,and easily take cold. 

A cold bath taken daily is, of course, most refreshing, but for 
cleanliness and as a means of hardening oneself a weekly warm 
bath with soap, in combination with a daily air-bath and a dry 
rubbing down, serve equally well. 

As for bathing in ice cold water, it is a kind of sport to be 
recommended only to very robust men, and then only if they find 
actual pleasure in it. The same applies in respect to snow-baths 
in winter and sea-baths in the open-air. In regard to these baths 
one thing is certain : they are in no wise necessary to health, and 
if the immersion does not thoroughly warm one it may be very 
harmful indeed. 

The air-bath is, above all, an excellent, mild method of hard- 
ening that is to be highly recommended for both small and big- 
ger children. In summer there is absolutely no need to clothe 
them, even when playing in the open air. In winter they can take 
their air-baths in the bed or dressing-room ; but in that case care 
must be taken that they are always in motion or are being mas- 
saged all the tim ethey remain undressed. Whilst it is very good 
indeed for young children to run about and play in warm weather 
and sunshine without clothes, it is, nevertheless, quite a wrong 
method of hardening children to allow them to go about in the 
the cold weather with naked calves, a practice which retards the 
proper growth of the legs. I consider it ridiculous, as well as 
directly unhealthy, inasmuch as it checks circulation, for children 
to go about, as I often see them, with seven thicknesses of cloth- 
ing on their bodies and nothing on their blue, frozen legs. 



I should prefer to see children clad with only two thicknesses 
of material; at best a pair of combinations of porous linen and 
an outer garment and blouse to which the knickers and stockings 
could be buttoned, so that braces were unnecessary. My boys 
go thus clad through the winter, and I am convinced that this 
costume is much more comfortable and more hardening than the 
seven thicknesses of clothing and the naked calves. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Concerning Lassitude in Spring. 

German joylessness in life is essentially a winter 
sickness, including the results of cellar air, and 
stove poisons in German living-rooms. 

Frederich Nietzcher. 

In the spring-time complaints are heard from nearly every- 
body concerning unpleasant sensations in the body. The com- 
plaints are always the same : lassitude, sleepiness and complete 
exhaustion. Other symptoms also appear, such as trembling of 
the hands a sif one were freezing, a dragging of the arms and 
legs, pains in the joints, etc. 

Such things always come with the spring, is the common ex- 
planation. We are suspicious of the springt-ime in its effect upon 
our health, a season otherwise extolled from of old by all nations 
as the dispenser of new life, for it especially disgusts us town- 
folk, preparing its cup of rejoicing with this bitter drop of worm- 
wood. There must be an element of truth in the matter, people 
say, as such a lot of voices join in the cry of complaint. 

Might it not be worth while to induce people to ponder over 
this phenomenon ? It would soon become clear to them that this 
is not an action of external nature as they think, but quite a nat- 
ural consequence of several causes working to one end. 

During autumn and winter a mass of poisonous matter col- 
lects in our bodies, in consequence of our unhealthy and perverse 
ways of living during the the dull months. When the cells of 
our organism awake to new life, with the rest of Nature, in the 
spring, they are at once faced with the difficult task of freeing 
the body from these poisons. Instead of resting during the dark, 
dead time of winter, we go about collecting in our organism 
foreign and inimical matter ,and then in the spring we have to 
waste our strength in order to get rid of it. No wonder, there- 
fore, that the body for a moment refuses to obey the behest of 
Nature. The organism that is relaxed and saturated with poison 



awakens slowly to reaction. The abnormal work before it can- 
not be accomplished without the accompaniments of pains and 
lassitude. 

And the task of freeing- the system from impurities is not 
limited to one single organ, but is required of the whole of the 
physical organism, so that the feeling of weakness spreads and 
becomes overpowering, and apparently is quite inexplicable. 
This relaxation, momentary or limited to certain parts of the 
body, often accompanied by irratability and pain in the muscles 
after strenuous or unusual work, is traceable to refuse matter, 
or combusted slag, exerting a pressure to escape from the tissues. 

But quite otherwise is it when the almost overpowering mass 
of poison that has been collecting in the body from October to 
March has firmly settled in all the saps and tissues. Then the 
organism often avails itself of the medium of an acute sickness, 
with high fever and copious perspiration, to free itself from the 
poison. Strong constitutions can become sound again almost at 
once — or at least after a short time — by this means ; elderly and 
feeble individuals sometimes succumb to these feverish attacks. 

If the sufferer possess sufficient moral courage and energy, he 
can completely free himself from this evil, with its often danger- 
ous results. Freedom can be effected in two different ways : 
firstly, care must be taken that the poisonous matters do not col- 
lect in lareg quantities; and, secondly, one should accustom 
oneself "to digest in the spring air." 

When I speak of poisons I do not, of course, mean apothe- 
caries wares, purchasable in bottles, which the law demands shall 
be of special shape and properly labelled, neither do I mean alco- 
hol. At the present day no one has any doubt that these, taken 
in large quantities, are harmful, while in small doses and in some 
special cases they can prove very beneficial. To protect oneself 
against this kind of poison is not difficult. But it is another mat- 
ter with those poisons that the latest scientific experiments have 
found to exist even in such prized articles of food as meat and 
beef tea, or those poisons that are provoked by all manner of 
residuums of food in the intestines when the latter are overladen. 

There is, of course, the remedy of dieting, but if one seeks to 
avoid the Scylla of intestinal poisons by the sole applciation of 
chewing and saliva methods (see chapter on the Art of Eating) 
I scarcely think they will succeed in escaping the Charybdis at 
the opposite end of the intestinal passages. 

If not too immoderate and strenuous, physical labor accom- 
panied by rational gymnastics and careful treatment of the skin 
during teh winter will free the body from these poisons. If the 
organs and glands, whose task it is to neutralize the poisons or 
eject them from the body, are originally sound, they will be still 



more strengthened by the increased exchange of matter. The 
body functions will become intensified and the general condition 
of halth will improve. 

A man may decide for himself, according to his taste or other 
circumstances whether he will employ this or that remedy against 
the accumulation of intestinal poisons. Should he be determined 
to limit himself to the one, it is, nevertheless, right to inform him 
how they both can be used and at the same time how their use 
can be exaggerated. The thing is to find a national middle-way 
which will just suit the person concerned. 

The fewer corporal exercises that are practised, and the older 
one is, so much more attention must be given to what is eaten 
and drunk, that is to say, to the proper management of the diet. 
But theer is scarcely any reason for people with strong constitu- 
tions and sound organs to deny themselves the enjoyment pro- 
vided by good eating and drinking, especially if they take physi- 
cal labor, which is as necessary for the re-establishment of the 
natural equilibrium as it is in itself a great pleasure. Our organs, 
above all, must not be misused, but to use them not at all is quite 
as harmful, for then they begin to "rust." It must also not be 
forgotten that rational physical exercises — apart from the fact 
that they preserve us from intestinal poisoning — develop and 
strengthen at the same time all muscles of the body, together 
with the heart and lungs, while the chewing method referred to 
affects only a small group of muscles round the jaw. 

Tainted air is yet more to blame than lack of exercise for that 
"tired feeling" in the spring. People sleep in stuffy, close rooms, 
they journey to and from business in electric cars, the ventilating 
valves of which are kept constantly closed, so that the bad air 
will not be disturbed by good air. At the office, in shops, they 
are inhaling poison all the day long. They take walks in the most 
crowded streets in the fond delusion of supplying the lungs with 
fresh air, but succeed in filling the passages only with coal dust 
and other harmful matter. The evenings are spent in halls, 
theatres, ball-rooms or cafes. In these places the atmosphere is 
always horrible. By living in such a way we do not give the lungs 
an opportunity of freeing the blood from carbonic acid poisonous 
matter. To the contrary, we inhale a whole mass of other pois- 
ons which taint the blood more and more. 

The opening of a window or a ventilator can provoke an 
otherwise perfectly friendly person to as great a fit of rage as 
would the presentation to him of an unexpected bill of taxes. 
According to the laws of prevailing cockeyism, it is a veritable 
crime to try and force the blessing of fresh air on your neighbors, 
while it is the duty and obligation of the accused one to inhale 
unappetizing refuse-products without grumbling. Unluckily, it 



is impossible to ascertain the presence of these dangerous poisons 
by sight or sense of touch; they can only be smelt. If people 
would only deevlop their olfactory powers and would test the 
purity of the air every time they step over their thresholds, the 
present conditions would not be suffered to exist. The only thing 
for those few who will not deny fresh air to themselves at any 
price is in the meantime to avoid the pestilential areas and to 
take the trouble of holding their own territories for fresh air. 

But first we must free ourselves from the illusion that spring 
air is an especial kind of air that in some mysterious way only 
arrives i na certain month. When the sun begins to shine again 
on a certain spot which has lain with the rest of Nature in winter 
sleep, then it is simply spring in this spot, and so it will remain 
as long as it is exposed to the sun's rays. Care should thereofre 
be taken to find and make use of thees places as early in the year 
as possible. These will tend to shorten the winter season, and 
the succeeding influences of this dark time of year will be di- 
minished in effect. 

In the same way we must try to make "summer" last as long 
as possible into autumn. Last November I passed two afternoons 
in an air-bath near Berlin, when I together with a whole com- 
pany — we weer all clad only in bathing-drawers — played ball and 
performed military exercises. In default of anything better, in 
the winter it is of advantage to take air-baths in the bedroom, of 
course, with the windows open; and it is god to sleep in bed 
without night garments, but just a light covering of blanket or 
counterpane. Every kind of open-air winter task outside four 
walls also provide very beneficial means of dispersing the harm- 
ful influences of the dark days of the year. Then when the real 
spring breezes fan those who have lived healthily, their vitality 
is intensified and their strength increased, while those people who 
have been vegetating amid unhealthy surroundings feel slack and 
sleepy. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Fight Against Tuberculosis. 

The Danish National Association for the Prevention of Con- 
sumption wants to build and maintain out of private funds, 
Sanatoria for thousands of patients. Had not the association 
better begin with the object, announced as secondary in their 
programme, namely, the propagation of knowledge of the means 
of protection against tuberculosis? 

A large spheer of useful work is open to the newly-established 
association, and all other kindred associations, if it will only aim 



at this second object; and it would be, indeed, "worthy of the 
blood of nobles" if they began a ruthless campaign against the 
tainted, confined and superheated air in which people live and 
breathe, both at work and at home, and while seeking their pleas- 
ures in theatres, music-halls, and churches and chapels. 

One wonders that a still greater number of people do not 
become completely debilitated — fall a prey to infection — when 
one thinks how oppressive the atmosphere can foe even in the 
office of a sanitary inspector, or in a physician's waiting-room, to 
say nothing of that in the veritable human pig-styes where the 
disease is bred. 

In how few offices, lecture-rooms, factories, and other 
crowded places of assembly are rational contrivances for ventila- 
tion found? And even if such things do really exist, they are 
often wrongly or never used. 

What a horrible smell and dust are often to be found in a 
gymnasium or exercise rooms. Is it to be wondered at that 
gymnasts and athletes, who suck this dust down by the pailful, 
succumb to the attacks of bacilli, even when their muscles are 
so strong? 

How few people, even among doctors, sleep at night with 
their windows open ; and how few, not excepting engineers who 
are specialists in ventilating machinery, are capable of detecting, 
by tehir sense of smell, whether the air around them is pure or 
pestilent? 

Although it is bad enough in towns, it is infinitely worse in 
the country. Here, when the air is obtained fresh from the cask, 
so to speak, it is, nevertheless, carefully imprisoned in tiny beds 
and living rooms ! Add to this the disagreeable, excessive 
warmth that greets one as soon as the door is open at all times, 
except during the summer months. 

The sole advantage which a high degree of warmth provides, 
namely, the fresh currents of air striving to supply the deficiency 
caused by the heat, is rendered useless by the sickly, supersti- 
tious fear of a draught, which, combined with misunderstood mo- 
tives of economy, causes people to stick paper over the window 
crevices and felt on to the doors. How many millions would be 
added to the national wealth if people would only content them- 
selves to live in rooms of a temeprature of 55 degrees to 60 de- 
grees Fahr. instead of 65 degrees to 75 degrees, and how much 
would th individual powers of resistance to sickness increase by 
following this advice? 

But it grows worse. In the good old days people were able, 
during the winter, to drive in open vehicles or to sit in unwarmed 
churches without inconvenience to themselves. Nowadays, long 
columns appear in th enewspapers about how cold it is in railway 



carriages and in the churches, although, it is to be presumed, 
clothes are just as thick as formerly. 

My advice to these anti-tubercular associations is to bring 
pressure to bear on all managers and masters that they shall take 
care to provide proper ventilation in their rooms for their work- 
ers, that is, if there really be any advantage in shtuting up people 
for some ten or fourteen hours ; and impress upon the minds of 
the working classes how pernicious it is for them to be breathing 
air that their fellow-sufferers have already been using, and which 
is, besides, charged with pieces of paper, gas, and dust of every 
sort. 

Recommend them to take moderate but thoroug hexercise in 
fresh air, eevn if they can spare onl yhalf an hour daily, so that 
the exchange of matter in one or any part of the body does not 
absolutely stagnate. The bacilli have good noses, and can find 
out the weak spot, which they occupy and use as a base of opera- 
tions for the conquest of the entire body. 

Open the eyes of teh public, of our authorities and law-gviers, 
so that sport and gymnastics out-of-doors will not serve only as 
amusements and to pass the time away, but also as a means of 
strengthening the health and the body till it is able to resist the 
disease, and thereby assisting the whole national community. 

If we wish to show clearly the use of sanitoria in the fight 
against consumption, we ought to look upon them not merely as 
healing institutions for a few, but rather as educational institutes 
for the benefit of the whole world. 

That many consumptives are released, as relatively cured, 
from the lung hospitals is undeniable, and this fact is an excellent 
proof of the power of those methods of cure whic hinclude the 
inhalation of fresh air. Air is virtually the sole factor in the 
cure. It is a fact that a still greater number of patients could be 
restored to health if some regard were given in the ocurse of 
treatment to other impotrant health-factors, such as suitable diet, 
a thorough skin treatment and rational bodily exercise, and if, at 
the same time, many offences against the precepts of elementary 
hygiene were omitted, such as the tight-lacing permitted by fe- 
male patients. 

It is self-evident that sun-baths (without exercise) ought to 
be provided at thees sanatoria on a much larger scale. At pres- 
ent, the places reserved for the patients to rest in the open air 
(which they generally do evry doy from four to fiv hours), are 
provided with curtains or shaded by trees, in order to keep the 
sun as far away as possible. But the cure would be much 
healthier and more pleasant if the patients were undressed and 
made to expose their bodies to the rays of the sun. In the cold- 
est months, if the sun were shining, they could be placed in a 



kind of hot-house that would, of course, be well ventilated and, 
if necessary, artificially warmed. Even if the rays of the sun 
lost some of their power in having to pass through the glass 
thees winter sun-baths would have a good effect. 

aRtional corporal exercises are completely excluded in the 
treatment of phthisis. The reason is that the doctors concerned 
are not acquainted, as a rule, either with gymnastics for the sick, 
or with general gymnastics and sport exercises as a means of 
physical cure. They apparently understand gymnastics to be 
something of the sort of thing as Roman wrestling, muscle- 
grinding on the horizontal pole, or leaping over five-barrel gates. 
The reason corporal exercises are excluded from the treatment 
of lung complaints is not, therefore, that the patients (especially 
those in the early stages of the disease) are not in a condition to 
practise gymnastics. I have often seen patients, with chest com- 
plaints, undertaking, by permission of their physician, heavy but 
limited tasks, which were scarcely beneficial to their health, and 
certainly much more exhausting than many forbidden gymnastic 
exercises. It is scarcely believable the extent to which invalids 
will exert themselves at their concerts and various social enter- 
tainments. I have seen a patient play continuously for one hour 
and a half on the piano ! 

Those who have experienced for themselves the powerful and 
beneficial influence of systematic gymnastics on the digestion, as 
well as upon the heart and lungs, will understand how fatal it 
may be if this means of cure is ignored in the fight against con- 
sumption. 

In the lung hospitals and sanatoria people deovte their time 
exclusively ,and at great cost, defrayed by themselves or others, 
in order to live healthily, thereby to regain their own health as 
soon as possible. Therefore, it is much to be wished that the 
whole treatment were more energetic and more complete than it 
is at prsent. One should not be content to check the destructive 
influence of the bacilli in the lungs, but should make it his aim 
to strengthen the whole organism and to exercise the body sys- 
tematically, so that the fight for existence can be reocmmenced 
with eevry chance of success. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Concerning Appendicitis. 

I am a diligent reader of the medical journals, and in the 
Danish Medical Journal some time ago I was much interested in 
an article on Appendicitis: Its Cause and Cure. The appendix 
is a small branch of the intestines about six inches long, which 



is closed at one end, a sort of cul-de-sac. Its precise function 
is unknown to medical and surgical science ; indeed, the learned 
doctor who wrote the article I am dealing- with stated that a man 
can live quite as well with it or without it. But is it really pos- 
sible that Nature has provided us with an absolutely useless or- 
gan? Is it not a more likely assumption that Science does not 
know as yet to what use it is intended? And would it not have 
been more to the point to say that man can live quite as un- 
happily whether he possesses this organ or not? Is it not pos- 
sible to conceive that the blind gut, next to the appendix, is in- 
tended to take a proper part in the process of digestion, and that 
this function has ceased owing to the unnatural methods of 
modern people in eating and digesting? If the appendix be re- 
moved there is nothnig further to be said, and the person con- 
cerned, no more troubled by "cautions" and "admonitions" from 
that organ, continues his perverted way of life, and dies, having 
reached the age of fifty, from senile decay, a state of affairs that 
excites no attention, as we are nowadays quite content, as a rule, 
if we attain this age. When it is cited as one of the causes of 
appendicitis that the contents of the bowels remain in the "blind 
gut" — said to be due to contraction of the entrance to the blood 
gut owing to an invertion of this bowel — I am constrained to ven- 
ture this question: "Is it not conceivable that these contents of 
the bowels cannot pass further because the person concerned 
never exercises his body or stomach, and that it would certainly 
pass in a normal way if the sufferer would undertake daily bowel 
gymnastics, twisting and turning the body and introducing 
stomach massage, especially if he drank a fair amount of pure 
water before the exercise?" All corners of the stomach would 
be thoroughly rinsed. (This must, of course, be done whilst 
the stomach is empty — taking bretakfast in bed is a horribly bad 
habit!) Another cause of appendicitis given is the inflammation 
of the large intestine spreading to the blind gut, that inflamma- 
tion being due to constitpation or imperfect purging. This I can 
understand. But I cannot comprehend why the learned doctor 
should not make the experiment, or, in the event of having made 
it, he has not discovered that an excellent means of obtaining 
regular purging is a daily morning exercise of bending, turning, 
and twisting the body. I know by experience, confirmed by that 
of man yother people, that after the performance of a certain 
number of these stomach exercises flatulency occurs ,and, by de- 
grees, the necessity of the commode makes itself felt. Why is it 
that appendicitis is most common among the upper classes or 
those who are able to lead a life of ease, eating too much meat, 
drinking too much wine, without taking necessary exercises? 



When it is stated that there is absolutely no means by which 
we can completely protect ourselves against attacks of appen- 
dicitis it seems to me a terribly disconsolate utterance. Is 't 
reall yto be imagined that we cannot protect ourselves against 
this sickness, not by following a veegtable diet, but by regular 
application of stomach gymnastics, and, finally, by leading in 
every respect a healthy life? Can a sickness descend like light- 
ning from heaven on the head of an absolutely inert man? Or 
was old Hippocrates right when he said that sickness is the result 
of a number of little indiscretions which accumulate day by day, 
finally to be discharged on the head of the unfortunate trans- 
gressor? 



| CHAPTER XX. 

Medical Testimony to the Muller System, and a 
Personal Appeal. 

It may be of interest to my readers to read a few opinions of 
Danish medical men concerning my massage exercises. Dr. 
Broendsted wrote in November, 1904: 

"The popularity that has been attained by that distinguished 
book, 'My System,' proves that it has supplied a want, in that it 
points out a simple, easy road to health which all men and women, 
young and old, can tread with very little trouble and without 
expensive apparatus. It not only contains good advice concern- 
ing invigorating baths and exercises, which are very judiciously 
selected and can be prosecuted anywhere, but also something 
absolutely new (as far as lam aware). I refer principally to the 
so-called 'rubbing' eexrcises, with which are combined judicious 
corporal movements in an ingenious manner. As these rubbing 
exercises stimulate the skin by active muscular movements, they 
have a thorough and evident effect, and are adaptable in great 
measure to deevlopment and hardening. Accustomed for some 
time to cold baths and elementary eexrcises, I have, by personal 
experiment, confirmed everything as stated in this book; and 
the so-called rubbing exercises appear to be such an ingenious 
discovery that they in all their simplicity certainly ought to be 
termed 'inspired.' It may be said that as I have for several years 
taken a cold bath daily and have employed therewith a few gym- 
nastic exercises, a partial adoption of Muller's system can make 
no especial difference to me. But that is not the case. Although, 
as I said before, Ionly follow it in principle, the result is already, 
after one month, plainly, nay, astonishingly evident. And I am 



perfectly convinced that I owe it to the stimulating influence of 
the rubbing exercise on the skin. . . ." 

Dr. C. Heyerdhal writes in the Danish Sundhedstidende 
(Danish Health Journal), October 15, 1904: 

"In the scheme, that should only take 15 minutes, much 
circumspection and experience is concealed. In comparison with 
the ordinary methods of taking the morning bath, the Muller 
arrangement offers great advantages. The ordinary method is 
this : to get out of bed and to step directly into the bath with 
the warmth of the bed still in the body, to dress oneself immeid- 
ately, and afterwards, perhaps, perform a few gymnastic exer- 
cises. In Muller's System the order is changed in this way : be- 
fore the bath, clothed in shirt and drawers, a number of invigo- 
rating body exercises are to be carried out, whereby the body is 
thoroughly warmed in quite another manner to the former way 
and well prepared to enter the bath. And after the bath some- 
thing special to J. P. Muller's System is added, namely a course 
of exercises by which the whole skin receives a thorough rub- 
bing, causing it to glow and to induce a feeling of physical com- 
fort that can be attained by no other form of bath. 

"We recall the publication of the Sandow System last year, 
giving instructions for obtaining strong muscles, accompanied 
by diagrams, etc., showing how much arms, legs and chest can 
gain inc ircumference i fthese exercises be performed. Very 
little of this muscle idolatry, thank goodness, is contained in 
Muller's System. He has perceived — whic his rare in a layman, 
and still more exceptional in an athlete — that strength does not 
lie in the muscles, but in the development of all the organs of the 
body, and on these, and especially on those of the chest, stomach 
and skin, he has fixed his attention. 

"Perhaps people would interest themselves a little more on 
skin cultivation if they could move themselves to look upon the 
skin as a species of clothing. At the moment there exists, in- 
deed no organ of the body that is more neglected. The skin is in 
general looked upon more or less as an indecent covering, of 
which people only dare show as little as possible. In reality, the 
skin is a very complex and important organ, the numerous ves- 
sels, glands and muscles of which prosper very ill under the con- 
tinual packing of clothes. It becomes relaxed, badly nourished, 
and (to drop into metaphor) like an old, crumpled, dirty dish- 
clout. 

"The skin can again be made as it was originally, smooth and 
soft and fine as silk, by practising the rubbing exercises of J. P. 
Muller. By his system, the whole skin surface, from the soles to 
the scalp, becomes thoroughly enlivened, and an inexpressively 



pleasant sensation of warmth ensues, which even the most com- 
plete massage and sun-baths could not effect. The reaction which 
everybody tries to bring about by the various forms of bathing 
is attained in full measure, and those who can only with diffi- 
culty regain their warmth after a bath will not by adopting the 
Muller method experience such inconvenience again. 

"The skin becomes, so to speak, another form of matter, at 
the same time finer and more hardened, and one could say the 
same thing, perhaps, of the bather himself. Then if one follows 
the health directions, the result, which comes as a sort of reward 
at last, will be that he will have grown into a new being. Ill- 
humor and fatigue vanish ,giving place to a confidence in life and 
lust for labor. The change that has taken plcae is observed with 
wonderment ,and one asks oneself if it is possible that fifteen 
minutes eevry day can have had all this as a result." 



* A PERSONAL DISCLAIMER— AND A REQUEST. 
By the Author. 

The following declaration is in answer to the expressions of 
various journals which accuse me of combining "Hygiene with 
business" : 

"I am neither physician, nor quack, nor wizard; I do not 
accept any kind of fee. I have actually referred many invalids 
who have consulted me to their family doctors, or to specialists 
or hospitals, to whic hever I could best recommend them. When 
healthy people have put questions to me on questions of hygiene, 
I have replied to them entirely without remuneration, and in 
many caess I have borne the expense of postage. I have for 
more than twenty-five years devoted all my spare time, and part 
of my paternal fortune, and nearly all the time I had at my dis- 
posal, to the theoretical and practical study of hygiene, and that 
without assistance, and sometimes even in the face of public and 
private opposition. I cite as a comparison that the study of 
medicine occupies usually about eight years. I am, of course, 
only a layman officially, yet I have acquired a knowledge among 
other things of the results of many English and American medi- 
cal investiagtions as to the influence of certain body-actions on 
definite internal organs — experience of which a portion of our 
physicians are evidently entirely ignorant. I have for more than 
a year given particular instructions to everyone who turned to 
me or to my wife to learn the system, and in this way people in 
widely different stations of life have been dealt with, from ser- 
vant girls to ladies in society. Likewise I have to so great an ex- 
tent as my time permitted introduced 'My System' to large and 
small assemblies, and as I was anxious to provide as many people 
as possible with its means of protection against sickness, the en- 
trance fee to these has always been put as low as possible. In no 
single instance have I accepted a fee ; besides which I have paid 
my own travelling expenses on very many occasions. 

"It must be evident that I do not oeffr thees explanations 
either gladly or of my own free will, but the oft-repeated provo- 
cations to which I have been exposed have forced me to take this 
scarcely-becoming step. I have renounced the advertisements 
which I could have obtained by refuting all the objections to 



* These weer originally printed in Copenhagen newspapers. 
Mr. Muller desires them to be repeated today. — Ed. 



'My System/ while I have letf unanswered those objections 
which were obviously dictated by ignorance or from unworthy 
motives, because I could freelv assume that an unbiassed and 
intelligent public would understand for itself. 

"In conclusion, I would like to ask all readers who have 
practised 'My System' for any length of time to send to me a 
short or lengthy report as to the success of its application, es- 
pecially as to the development it has effected on their physical 
and psychical conditions. I should be very glad at the same time 
to know whether I can have their permission to publish their re- 
ports in a collection of papers which I intend editing. By this 
means single experiences will be instructive and of great ad- 
vantage to many. When people who have been indifferent read 
how 'My System' has brought both benefit and pleasure to old 
as well as to young, perhaps they will also be seized with a desire 
to shake off their apathy. 

"J. P. Muller." 

"Klampenborg, Denmark." 



LBJa'09 



THE FRESH-AIR BOOK 



BY 
J. P. MULLER 



Copyright, 1908 

by 
J. P. MULLER 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 
1908 



